Part Twenty-Nine of the PW Timeline
A JSE Fanfic
[This is part of a complete series I wrote from July 2019 to July of 2022. Everyone gets together to celebrate everyone being out of the hospital! Or at least allowed out of the hospital with supervision. Unfortunately, an unexpected guest decides to crash their party. Warning for guns and also a bomb threat.]
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Knock, knock, knock. The sound seemed unusually loud in the empty neighborhood. Chase stepped back, glancing at JJ standing beside him, who gave him a small smile in return. The two of them waited for a few minutes on the doorstep. “Do you think I should knock again, or...?” Chase asked.
At that moment, the door opened, revealing Marvin. “Sorry!” he said. “Luna was at the door, had to get her away.” In his arms he held his other cat, Ragamuffin, who was not nearly as excited about the door opening as Luna usually was. “Anyway, hey! Come on in!” He stepped to the side.
“Hi, Marv,” Chase said, waving a bit as he walked inside. “Good to see you again.”
JJ, following Chase, glanced around the living room. 'Ah, you’ve finally put away all the boxes. Good job. It’s only been several months.'
“Haha, you’re very funny.” Marvin closed the door behind them. “You know what they say: nothing like having several people over at your house to get you to tidy things.”
JJ laughed. 'Hey, did you get a haircut? It looks shorter.'
“No, that’s just ‘cause of the style.” Marvin’s hair was in a braid instead of its usual ponytail. “Where’s Jackie? I thought you were picking him up.”
“I did too,” Chase said. “But right before we got to his place he called and said he was going to be late. Something about a sudden meeting with his landlord.”
“Ugh.” Marvin shook his head. “I’m so glad I was able to buy my own house.”
Chase shrugged. “Jackie’s building isn’t too bad, yknow. I mean, they kept his apartment open even though he was missing for like a year. Not many places would do that.”
“True, true.” Marvin nodded. “Anyway, you guys can make yourselves at home. I got drinks and food in the kitchen, and if you guys want to set up a movie or game go ahead. I’m going to put this guy—” He scratched behind Ragamuffin’s ears. “—in my room with Luna so the two of them don’t get underfoot. I moved the terrarium there, too, which took FOREVER.” He groaned. “Be right back.” With that, he disappeared down the hallway.
Chase walked over to the television, setting down the bag he’d brought. “Hey, Jay, did you want to do anything in particular first?” He rummaged through the bag’s contents. “Stacy let me borrow the family Switch for the weekend, so I can hook it up here.”
JJ shook his head. 'I don’t have anything in mind. But I think we should wait for everyone else to arrive first.' He turned around and opened the front door again. 'I’m going to go get the cookies from the car.'
“Ohhh right, you go ahead and do that.”
Jameson made an OK sign with his hands and left. He returned only a minute later with a plate of store bought sugar cookies. Heading down the hall, he arrived in the kitchen and put the plate down next to all the other food Marvin had bought for that evening. Snack foods, mostly: chips, pretzels, bowls of fun-sized candy bars, some 2-liter bottles of soda with accompanying red plastic cups. Marvin had offered to provide alcohol as well, but Chase requested that they leave that off the plan.
Marvin, walking by the kitchen doorway, stopped and leaned in. “Oh sweet, cookies!” He grinned. “You know you guys didn’t have to bring anything.”
'I know, I know,' JJ signed. 'But it’s the least I could do after you offered to do basically everything.'
“Still.” Marvin’s grin faded a bit. Now he looked a bit anxious. “You, um...you think this is going to go well? I mean, Schneep is going to have doctors with him and everything, they’re not gonna shut this down or anything, are they?”
'If they had any objections, I’m sure they would have brought them up when you and Chase asked if he could come,' JJ said.
“Right, right.” Marvin took a deep breath, in and out. “And...Jack won’t have any problems with it, will he?”
“It’ll be fine, Marvin.” Chase, walking down the hall to join the two others, had just barely caught Marvin’s concerns. “I cleared everything with both hospitals, there’s no problem with anything. The only thing we have to worry about is that Jackie’s allergic to peanuts, and I can tell you’ve got everything there sorted out.” He gestured to the counter of snacks. Most of them were nut-free and the ones that weren’t had been carefully separated from the rest.
“Right,” Marvin said again, nervously playing with the hem of his shirt.
Chase checked the time on his phone. “Okay, it’s just about time to pick up Jack. Maybe Jackie will be done with his thing by then and I can swing by his place, too. I’ll be back in like twenty minutes.”
'See you later, Chase,' JJ said, smiling. 'Thanks again for the ride. You didn’t have to.'
“Heh. No problem, really.” Chase made a finger gun, which he then slowly lowered in slight embarrassment. “See you guys later.”
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Only five minutes after Chase left, there was another knock at the front door. Marvin, who had been sitting on the sofa with JJ and talking, stood up and quickly walked over to open it.
“Marvin!” Instantly, Marvin was enveloped in a tight hug. “Oh!” The hug disappeared. “I should have asked first, sorry.”
“Hey, Schneep!” Marvin laughed. “No, it’s fine. Bring it in.”
Schneep smiled wide, and the two friends embraced. In just the two weeks since Marvin had last seen him, he’d already changed a lot. He looked almost like his old self again. Sure his hair was a bit longer, and the medical bracelet on his wrist wasn’t going away anytime soon, but he was wearing one of his old favorite sweaters and wasn’t nearly as pale as he used to be. “How’s it feel to be out of there for a little bit?” Marvin asked.
“Well, I now understand what they mean when they say something is a breath of fresh air.” Schneep took a step back. “Because it is literal for me.” He looked around the living room. “Your house has not changed that much.”
“Nope. Which is weird, considering I left it for a few months there.”
'He only recently unpacked everything again,' JJ signed from the sofa.
“Hey, I saw that!” Marvin said.
“Um...” A voice coughed awkwardly. “Is it alright if we come inside?”
“Oh!” Marvin had been so concerned with Schneep that he hadn’t noticed the two others with him. “Yeah, of course. Uh, hi, by the way! Mina, Dr. Laurens.”
“Hello again,” Mina said, stepping inside. “I hope you do not mind, but I brought a drink.” She held up a two-liter bottle of pink lemonade. “I have to drive home so I did not want anything—you know.”
“Oh, don’t worry, we don’t have any here,” Marvin assured her. “Did you guys all...drive together?”
Laurens smiled faintly. “No, Mina just happened to pull up to your house at the same time we did.” She indicated Schneep and herself.
“Oh, okay.” Marvin closed the door once everyone was inside, then turned to Mina. “Well, you can put that in the kitchen with all the rest of the drinks. It’s down the hall, there.”
“Got it.” Mina nodded, heading off in the direction he pointed.
“Jamie! Hello!” Schneep headed over to the sofa. JJ stood up, and the two of them hugged quickly. “I feel as though it has been forever. You do not visit that often, is everything okay?”
'It’s all fine, don’t worry,' JJ hurried to say. 'Nothing to do with you. It’s just I’ve been busy with personal stuff lately. You know...considering everything.'
“Ah.” For a moment, Schneep’s expression fell. He glanced back at Laurens, who gave him an encouraging thumbs up. “Well, yes, I was busy with that sort of stuff, too.” He sighed. “But...let us not talk about that here. This is a celebration, yes?”
Jameson nodded, straightening and putting on a smile. 'You’re right. Your friend Jack has worked very hard to get out of the hospital, it deserves celebrating!'
“‘Your’ friend? Ha, do not tell me Jack has not taken you into his friend fold yet, I know what that man is like.” Schneep chuckled.
JJ laughed a bit as well. 'No, you’re right. We’ve only met a few times, but he’s very insistent.'
While the two of them talked, Marvin leaned over to Laurens and asked, “So is it just you?”
“As supervision? Yes.” Laurens nodded. “Normally it would have been an orderly, but I asked for special permission from Dr. Fells. Just this once. I thought it would, um...‘kill the vibe’ if there was one random stranger in this group of friends. At least you guys know me.”
“Y’know, I think we can be considered friendly by now,” Marvin said, smiling.
“Oh.” Laurens didn’t hide her surprise. “Really? I mean, we only got together a few times. And isn’t it a little weird? With my job and anything.”
“I don’t think it’s weird. And a few times is enough for some people. I’m sure Chase would go out of his way to assure you more, but uh, I’m not all that good at that sort of stuff.” Marvin shrugged. “But you’re cool with me.”
“Well...thank you,” Laurens said. Her voice was soft, but full of feeling.
At that moment, Mina returned from the kitchen, carrying a stack of red plastic cups and a permanent marker. “Alright everyone!” she announced. “I am establishing a rule now! If you grab a cup, you must write your name on it so there is no confusing! Alright?”
JJ frowned. 'I don’t think there’s enough of us to cause confusion.'
“Well, we do it to be sure, then,” Mina insisted. “Just in case there are germs and such.”
Schneep nudged Jameson. “Yes, germs and such. I agree. As a doctor.”
JJ raised an eyebrow. 'Are you sure you’re not just taking your girlfriend’s side?'
“What? Noooo. No, girlfriend? I—what do you mean?” Schneep stammered. “We are still being just friends.”
“Um, yes! Exactly!” Mina added. “That’s all.” Her face was turning a bit red.
Jameson nodded. 'Right. Just friends.' He looked across the room, briefly locking eyes with Laurens and Marvin. They all exchanged identical expressions. 'Well, should we bring the drinks out here, then?'
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About fifteen minutes later, Jackie finally arrived, knocking on the door like the others before him. “Sorry I’m late,” he said, walking in as soon as Marvin opened the door. “It was totally the bus’s fault, I swear, they were totally behind schedule—”
“It’s fine, Jackie,” Marvin said. “You’re not even the last to arrive.”
“Really?” Jackie scanned the room. “Oh, you’re right. Well, I feel a bit better now.”
“Jackie!” Schneep waved at him from across the room. “It is good to see you!”
“Schneep!” Jackie hurried over to him. As soon as he was within range, Schneep threw his arms around him. “Whoa! Little tight there.”
“Ah, sorry.” Schneep backed up, still smiling. “It just feels like so long. You got a haircut!”
“Yeah, I did.” Jackie ran a hand along his new, short length of hair. “I thought it was time, you know?”
'I think it looks good on you,' JJ said, appearing at Jackie’s other side.
“Oh hey JJ!” Jackie leaned over and gave Jameson a quick, tight hug. “How have you been?”
'Pretty good, actually. I’ll be honest, I’m still on edge.' Jameson’s signs were a bit smaller as he said that. 'But I’m being optimistic. Not going to let any of this keep me down.'
“That’s the spirit!” Jackie grinned.
“Oh hey, Jackie,” Marvin called from over by the front door. “Are you gonna put your backpack down?”
“Nah, I think I’ll hold onto it for a bit,” Jackie said.
Marvin narrowed his eyes. “Did you pack it full of superhero movies? All the Spider-Mans again?”
“Mmmm I’m not telling.” Jackie tried to smother his smile.
“Godamnit Jackie, if I have to spend another two hours with you gushing over Andrew Garfield I am kicking you out of my house!” Marvin shook his head. “Anyway, there’s food in the kitchen, drinks on the coffee table. Make sure to write your name on your cup so it doesn’t get confused with anyone else’s. Laurens and Mina are in the kitchen, too, if you want to say hi.”
“Got it.” Jackie nodded, then headed over to the coffee table, grabbing a red plastic cup and the marker.
Knock, knock, knock. Someone was at the front door for the fourth time that night. Marvin brightened up. “Guys, it’s them!” he said, hurrying over to open the door.
“I’m back!” Chase announced, stepping into the house as soon as the door was open. “And guess who’s with me?” He then stepped to the side, revealing—
“Hey guys.” Jack smiled, a bit shyly, and waved.
“Jack!” everyone shouted in joyful unison.
Immediately, Jack was surrounded by friends, chattering and buzzing over each other for a solid thirty seconds. That came to an end when Marvin shouted, “Alright, alright! He needs space! You all back the fuck up!”
“Ah, sorry, Jack.” Jackie gave a little laugh. “It’s just so surprising to see you out, you know?”
“It’s surprising to be out, I can say that much.” For the first time in months, Jack was wearing normal street clothes—a black hoodie and jeans—and not hospital garb. That alone made him look much more lively, but he still wasn’t quite as lively as he might have been. The cane he was holding tight to was a clear enough indication. “Man, Marv, your house really hasn’t changed at all, has it?”
“Why are you the second person to say that?” Marvin groaned.
'Is everything okay, Jack?' JJ asked. 'How’s it gone so far?'
“Been alright. I’m still gonna need some physical therapy, but I can walk, and they said that’s an important step forward. Literally.” Jack laughed at his own joke. Then, he spotted someone lingering at the edge of the group. “Schneep?” he said. “Is that you?”
“I...yes, it’s me,” Schneep said, shifting awkwardly on his feet.
“Wow. I almost didn’t recognize you—which is amazing, considering how we’re all clones,” Jack joked. “It’s like forgetting my own face.”
Schneep chuckled a bit, but still looked on edge. He hesitated, then stepped forward. “I—Jack, I—I know this is all my fault, but—but it is very good to see you.”
Jack tilted his head. “Hey. It’s alright.”
“But I am the one who—”
“Yeah, you are.” Jack reached out and grabbed Schneep’s hand, squeezing it tightly. “And I won’t lie, that...wasn’t good,” he said delicately. “And I do think we need to talk about that some time. But not right now. It’s really alright, Schneep. I promise.”
Schneep stared at him for a moment more. Then he let out a deep breath, blinking back sudden tears in his eyes. “Are we...still friends?” he asked, almost too quiet to be heard.
“I...I think we are, yeah,” Jack said.
“I...good. Good.” Schneep put on a smile. “I am glad you are okay.”
“Me too.” Jack returned the smile. “Now.” He looked around at everyone else, standing awkwardly nearby and trying to seem like they weren’t listening. “This is supposed to be a party, right? Let’s get it started!”
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Soon, everyone relaxed into the friendly atmosphere. Chase quickly asserted control over the TV and game systems, which led to a couple arguments with Marvin as he insisted on telling Chase how to set everything up. Mina and Laurens reappeared from the kitchen, greeting the others who had shown up in their absence. Jack sat down in one of the armchairs and, surprisingly, struck up a conversation with Jameson, the two of them getting to know each other a bit more.
After a while, Laurens left Mina talking with Schneep and looked around the room. She wasn’t usually the sociable type at parties, but then again, she didn’t really consider this a party. It was just a bunch of friends getting together, celebrating the fact that ‘getting together’ was possible for the first time in a long while. She couldn’t help but smile to herself.
By now, Chase, Marvin, Jack, and Jameson were all busy debating whether they should put on a movie or play a video game. The sides were evenly split into two vs. two, and Laurens didn’t really feel like becoming a tiebreaker for that matter. Mina and Schneep were talking in German, with Mina showing Schneep several pictures on her phone—probably of their daughter Elise. Jackie was the only person on his own, leaning against a wall and swirling a drink in a red plastic cup. Laurens made her way over to him. “Are you daydreaming again?” she asked.
“Hmm?” Jackie looked over at her, a bit startled. “Oh, uh, hi. Sorry. Was it that obvious?”
Laurens shrugged. “Not unless you’re looking for it. How have things been?”
Now it was Jackie’s turn to shrug. “Fine, I guess. Things are different now, and it’s just...even though a lot of bad stuff happened, it’s hard to get used to a difference, you know?”
“Well that’s completely normal,” Laurens reassured him. “Our brains tend to establish baselines, and when all we’re used to is terribleness, the lack of terribleness seems strange, simply because it’s not the baseline anymore.”
Jackie laughed. “You really are a psychiatrist, aren’t you, Laurens?”
“I—um, what did you call me?” Laurens asked, confused.
“What?” Jackie grinned. “Did I have your name wrong all this time?”
“No, it’s just...you’ve never called me by my last name,” Laurens said slowly. Even though everyone else here tended to use her surname, Jackie was the one exception, the one who had called her Rya from the start.
“Oh. Sorry. I thought it would be like—a funny thing. Um. Anyway.” Jackie quickly drained the remaining drink in his cup. “I’m gonna...go to the bathroom. Be right back.” He pushed away from the wall, heading to the hallway. As he passed the coffee table, he put his cup down. Not too carefully, as it tipped over the moment he let go. But he didn’t care to right it, disappearing down the hall. Laurens watched him, puzzled.
“Whoa.” Jack, sitting in his chair by the coffee table, leaned forward and picked up Jackie’s cup. “Hey, Jackie, be more careful, man!” he called after him. “That could’ve spilled!” He sighed, and happened to look down at the cup in his hands. It was a quick glance, but something seemed off, and he looked at the cup more closely.
Knock, knock.
The conversation lulled a bit. Marvin, sitting at the sofa, stood up. “It’s probably a solicitor,” he said to the room at large. “I’ll make sure they leave.” And he hurried to the front door.
“Hey Chase?” Jack said, leaning closer to where Chase was crouching on the floor, looking through the movies and games they’d all brought.
“Yeah?” Chase turned towards Jack. “What’s up?”
“This is going to sound weird, but...” Jack paused. “Did...Jackie’s handwriting get...messier? While I was in the hospital?” He held out the cup for Chase to look at, with Jackie’s name written in black on the red plastic.
Marvin opened the front door. “Hi, sorry, I can’t listen to some sales pitch right...now...” His voice trailed off, and he took a step backwards, his eyes wide in confused surprise.
Chase grabbed the cup from Jack’s hand to get a better look. “What the—” He shook his head. “That’s not Jackie’s handwriting.”
“Hey guys, sorry I’m late.”
Everyone looked up at the sound of the voice. Jackie was stepping past Marvin and into the house. “That whole thing took way longer than it should have,” he said, rolling his eyes and closing the front door behind him. “Did you know there’s construction on Center Street? I didn’t, because they apparently decided to let the bus routes run right through it.” He stopped, noticing the stares and dead silence he’d walked into. “What? Why are you all looking at me like that?”
“...Jackie,” Schneep said slowly. “Did you...change your clothes? And...your hair?”
“What?” Jackie’s brows drew together. “I mean, I got a haircut, but what do you mean by changing my clothes?”
Most everyone glanced around at each other, too confused to move. But Jameson gasped, eyes widening in realization. He immediately shot to his feet and—
Click. “Please don’t do anything stupid, Jamie.”
There was a man standing in the hallway entrance. A man wearing the same kind of clothes Jackie wore, a man who looked quite a lot like Jackie, but whose stiff posture and cold expression told everyone he was not Jackie. One hand held a black handgun, loaded and pointed forward. The other hand reached up and used the sleeve of his jacket to wipe away the makeup covering half his face, revealing the scars underneath.
For a split second, everything was frozen.
Then there was a scream, and everyone burst into motion. Chase scrambled to his feet, stepping in front of Jack—who tried to stand but couldn’t get up. Jackie gasped and spun back towards the door, and Marvin did the same. Mina grabbed Schneep, who was still in shock, and shoved him behind her. Laurens dropped the cup she was holding and ran to duck behind the nearest chair. The only one who stayed still was Jameson.
“Everyone freeze!” Anti pointed the gun towards the front door. “You two step away from the door. Don’t think I won’t shoot you.”
Marvin, his hand on the front door’s handle, instinctively stopped. Jackie tried to discreetly gesture for him to keep going, but Marvin’s eyes were locked on the gun.
“Oh come on, Jackie, you’re smarter than that,” Anti said, grinning. “How far will you get with a bullet in your leg? Not to mention all the rest of these lovely people who weren’t lucky enough to be standing by an entrance. Do you want them to feel the consequences of your actions?”
Jackie hesitated. Then, slowly, he backed away from the front door, grabbing Marvin and pulling him back as well. He turned to the others in the room with an apologetic expression on his face.
“Good. Now.” Anti then pointed the gun towards Schneep and Mina. “Drop that phone, Ms. Pfieffer.”
Mina gasped, her phone falling from her hands. The number pad was visible on the screen, with a single 9 dialed.
Anti’s eyes darted around the room, landing on each person. “In fact, all of you. Take your phones out. Take them out and kick them away from you.”
“You—you can’t shoot all of us,” Chase said weakly.
“I can,” Anti replied calmly. “Do you think there’s too many of you? Well, I’m sorry, but you’re mistaken. My trigger finger is faster than any of you can run. Drop your phones. No sudden movements.”
Not everyone moved at once, but they all did as he said. First Mina, then Jackie, Chase, Jack, Laurens, Jameson, and finally Marvin. Anti glanced down at the pile of smartphones in the center of the living room floor, counting them. “Seven,” he muttered, and looked back up and counted the people in the room. “Eight.”
“I-I-I’m sorry, I—” Schneep stammered. “I do not have—I was not—”
Anti laughed. “Oh, don’t worry, Henrik, I know. I’m not stupid.”
Schneep relaxed, but only slightly. He was shaking visibly. Mina reached back and grabbed his hand, squeezing tightly.
“What do you—” Laurens swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. “What do you want, Anti?”
“Oh, not much,” Anti said casually. “Just for one of you to come with me. Can you guess who?”
Silence. Anti noticed the eyes darting about, almost everyone looking back and forth between two people. With some exceptions. Schneep inhaled sharply, but then blinked. His eyes locked on Jameson. And Jameson...he didn’t look at anyone. His eyes were locked on Anti, his posture stiff with his hands behind his back. Anti laughed. “You were always smart, Jamie.”
“Jamie?” Marvin repeated, confused for a moment before realizing what the nickname was short for. His head snapped towards Jameson. “JJ, no, you can’t—”
“He certainly can,” Anti interrupted. “Especially with the alternative.”
Jameson said nothing. His expression was unreadable.
“...why?” Jack whispered. “Why...Jameson?”
“Hmm.” Anti glanced at him. “I forget, you’re out of the loop. Though apparently not as out of the loop as you should be. That’s my fault, really. I didn’t expect you to remember what I said while you were a vegetable.”
Jack paled, shrinking back into the chair as he attempted to make himself as small as possible.
“But it’s quite simple, actually,” Anti continued, now pointing the gun towards the center of the room, where it could easily aim at anyone. “I have to leave this city. Fucking sucks, really, giving up everything I built, but what can you do when the coppers are onto you? And, well, now that I know my brother is alive...” He laughed. “I’m not letting him leave again.”
'You really shouldn’t care this much, Anti,' Jameson finally spoke, taking his hand out from behind his back to sign. 'We haven’t seen each other in years.'
“And whose fault is that?!” Anti suddenly screamed, and Jameson’s carefully guarded expression broke into instinctive fear as he flinched. “Who made me think you’d killed yourself?!”
'I never intended to—' Jameson started.
“Oh, so—so the note wasn’t meant to sound like that, was it?” Anti growled. “It was—The goodbye wasn’t supposed to sound so final, was it?” He shifted, pointing the gun directly at Jameson. “And your jacket in the river—th-that was just an accident, wasn’t it? Wasn't it? Not meant to look like you’d jumped? You weren’t expecting—weren’t planning on me running all through town, trying to find you, being so, so afraid of what you were planning, only to find that—that bit of cloth in th-the water, the rapid water, caught on a t-tr-tree? You didn’t think about what I’d assume?”
Jameson took a slow step back. The others in the room were silent, statues holding their breaths afraid to interrupt this outburst.
“You didn’t think—” Anti laughed hysterically. The gun trembled in his shaking hands. “You didn’t think about how I’d be—how I’d sit by the river crying for an hour? You didn’t t-think about what it would mean, when my o-only family left me like that? The only thing that kept me g-going, growing up in those shit towns with those motherFUCKERS who w-wanted the—who pocketed the foster money and left the k-kids to kill each other in gangs—the only thing that kept me going in those hells, kn-knowing that when I was old enough, I had real family that I h-had to look after. You were the only FUCKING thing I had! And you fucking left me alone! You let me bleed, you let me DIE! You made me try to follow you! And now...” He stopped, breathing heavily for a moment. “Now...you pretend like none of it mattered. The least you could do...is come with me.”
Jameson couldn’t say anything, left completely speechless by Anti’s rant. He stared at him, gaping, for a solid few seconds. Then, slowly, his expression became stone again, and he put his hands behind his back once more.
“Refusing to say anything?” Anti laughed. “You never...would have done that...before.” Suddenly, his spun and pointed the gun in a different direction. “You don’t f-f-fucking move.”
Laurens, who was slowly standing back up after crouching behind a chair, stopped mid-movement, awkwardly bent over. “Anti,” she said slowly. “I’m sorry you went through all that. But you can’t...you can’t make one person into this beacon of everything you need. That’s not...fair. To him. O-or to yourself. You’re making yourself dependent on something that doesn’t exist.”
“If I wanted a shrink, I would have—I-I-I would have—” Anti stopped, panting. “Just fuck off. I didn’t ask you.”
Then, Schneep, whose eyes had remained locked on Jameson, finally looked at Anti and spoke. “If there is anything—a-anything we can do, in exchange for you—leaving Jameson alone—”
“Henrik, no,” Chase said softly, looking back at him. “You’ve been through enough.”
“I appreciate the o-offer, Schneep,” Anti said, grinning mockingly. “But as fun as you were, i-it’s too much trouble to t-take more than one person with me.”
“H-how are you expecting this to work?” Schneep asked, his voice shaking yet refusing to look away from Anti. Mina inched further in front of him, but he leaned around her. “If Jameson leaves with you, you must know it will not be long before the police are after you. Or—or what if we try to follow you?”
“So d-desparate,” Anti sighed. “But I should expe-ect as much from you. Did you think I wouldn’t h-have a plan...for that?” He reached up and took off the backpack he was wearing—the one he had refused to take off while he’d pretended to be Jackie. While still pointing the gun at the room, he clumsily unzipped it, then unceremoniously dropped it on the floor. With a swift kick, he pushed the backpack into the center of the room, right near the pile of phones. The inside of the backpack was filled with wires and electronic parts. An LED screen poked out from the mess, reading “ARMED” in big red letters.
Jackie inhaled sharply. “Is that a fucking bomb?!”
“C-can’t tell you how long it...it took to put it together,” Anti laughed. “But I-I’ll say it’s not nearly as long as you—as you think.”
“What the fuck were you thinking?!” Marvin cried. “What if it went off while you were still here?!”
“Idiot,” Anti snapped. “I-I’m not stupid enough to mess with ex-explo-explos—with bombs that I don’t u-understand. Now listen up. This is how i-it’s going to w-work. Jamie and I are going to leave here. All of y-you are going to stay. If I see a-any of you come out of the house after us, I’ll t-trigger the bomb. Look at it closer for a moment. S-see the lens?” He gestured at the bomb, indicating a round glass lens amidst the wires. “Th-that’s a camera, it’s linked up to my phone. Even after I l-leave, I’ll be watching you. If any of you move from where y-you’re standing within the next...hour, then I’ll trigger i-it. Understa-and?”
Nobody said anything, but their expressions and tense posture was answer enough.
“Good.” Anti nodded. His hands were shaking, but his aim held steady. “Now. Jamie? The ch-choice is yours.”
Jameson stared at Anti. His stone expression had given way to pure fear, but he didn’t move.
“Leave him alone.” Schneep stepped forward. Anti immediately aimed the gun at him. He stopped, but didn’t back up. “You—you say the choice is his, but it is not really a choice, is it? You do not give people choices, you just pretend you do. When the alternative is to stand by and let people you care about be hurt, there is no real choice to be made.”
“You shut your—” Anti snarled.
“Nnno.”
Several gasps went around the room as Jameson spoke. Even Anti was surprised, looking back at Jameson with wide eyes.
'Henrik is right,' Jameson said. 'There was never a choice with you. There were only threats and lies. Your only desire is control, Aneirin. Control through any means possible. And I can understand why you want that, but you took it way too far too many years ago, and now you can’t stand when even the smallest thing refuses to go according to your desires.'
“Jamie,” Anti said softly. “I—”
'You can’t justify it,' Jameson continued. 'You can’t say you just want to protect me. That went out of the window when you fucking kidnapped me all those months ago. In fact, it was out of the question from the moment you asked me to help hide a body. From the moment you said I had to stay, or else the police would catch me. Though, would you have minded if they did? It seems like a prison is just protection to you.'
“I’m sorry—” Anti started.
'No you’re not.' Jameson shook his head. 'If you were, you wouldn’t continue to do it. You wouldn’t BE here if you were sorry, let alone bring a bomb with you. You’ve never given me any choice, Aneirin. And that’s why I had to leave. That’s why I had to be dead to you. I didn’t want it to look like a suicide. I thought it would seem like I fell into the river while running away. But the only way I could escape you is if you thought I couldn’t be reached. And the only way I couldn’t be reached—in your eyes, at least—was in death.' Jameson stared directly at Anti, two pairs of blue eyes locked across a room. 'I’d ask you if you understand, but I don’t think you can anymore. It’s not an option for you. And because of that, we are no longer family. We haven’t been for years.'
Anti’s chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. His hand was shaking significantly now, the muzzle of the gun pointing at anyone and everyone. “J-Ja-Jameson.” His voice was strangled. “You—you—y-you c-c-can’t—” Then his eyes shot wide open. He gasped. And like a puppet with its strings cut, he suddenly collapsed.
It was so sudden that most of the room remained where they were, confused and shocked. But two people burst into action. Jameson ran across the room, kneeling at Anti’s side. Quickly, he took the gun from his shaking hand, tossing it across the room and almost hitting Laurens, who instinctively ducked. Meanwhile, Schneep darted to the center of the room and gingerly grabbed the straps of the backpack with the bomb in it. He looked at Jameson. “Are you sure?” he asked.
Jameson gestured towards the front door. Schneep nodded, and broke into a run. He threw open the front door and dashed out to the street, carefully but swiftly dropping the backpack on the sidewalk before running back to the house. By the time he returned, some of the others had recovered. Jackie grabbed his phone from the pile and immediately dialed the police. Mina ran around Jameson and Anti and blocked off the hallway with her body, preventing Anti from escaping down that way. Chase walked over to where the gun had fallen and picked it up. He turned it over in his hands, eyes widening as he recognized it.
“What—what just happened?” Marvin asked.
Jameson glanced back at him. 'Seizure,' he signed, fast enough for the sign to be almost unrecognizable. Then he turned back to Anti, who was noticeably shaking, his arms and legs jerking. Jameson hesitated, assessing the situation, then looked at Chase. Give me your jacket, he said.
“Uh—what?—I mean, yeah.” Chase stammered, confused, but took his jacket off and handed it to him.
Jameson didn’t say thank you, merely balling up the jacket and putting it underneath Anti’s head.
“Wh...why is he seizing?” Laurens asked, inching closer.
'He has them sometimes,' Jameson explained. 'We were in a car accident as children, it did damage to both of us. The seizures used to be a lot more common, though.' He stared down at Anti and sighed. 'Unlucky.'
“I’d argue it’s extremely lucky,” Marvin muttered. “For us, I mean. I-I don’t know how we were...” He trailed off.
“You should not wish a seizing on someone,” Schneep said. “Shame on you.” Though his words rang a bit hollow, as he stared down at Anti and didn’t move.
'This is a bad one, but it should be over in a minute or two,' Jameson said. He glanced back at everyone else. 'So...what should we do?'
Silence. Until Jack cleared his throat. “I mean, we shouldn’t—shouldn’t ignore it, but...we need to make sure he can’t...do anything. Maybe—maybe we can lock him in the closet?”
“Closet doesn’t have a lock,” Marvin said. “But we can move a chair in front.”
Meanwhile, Jackie was still on the phone. “I-I don’t know, we moved it outside,” he was saying. “Now the guy is having a seizure. I don’t—No, he seems alright. So far. What should we do?” He paused. Then he looked at the others. “Do we have handcuffs or something?”
“Jackie, really, this is my house,” Marvin said. “But—I can grab a scarf from my room or something. Oh, Mina, actually, you’re closer. It’s the last door down the hall, can you—?”
“On it,” Mina said, and turned to run down the hall.
“Yeah, we can do that,” Jackie said, returning to the phone conversation. “How close are you?” He paused. “Okay. Okay. Should I stay on the line?” Another pause. “Okay, I will, then.”
Anti had stopped shaking. Now the only movement was the rise and fall of his chest. Jameson reached over and rolled him onto his side. Anti still didn’t move. His eyes—one real, one glass—drifted upwards, landing on Jameson’s face. Jameson didn’t say anything. But he didn’t look away.
.............................................................................................
It was a while before everything calmed down. As soon as Jameson said it was okay to move him, Mina and Marvin grabbed Anti and put him in the closet, tying his wrists behind his back with a scarf and shoving a chair in front of the door. They also took away his phone, recalling what he said about it linking up to the bomb.
The police arrived soon after that, with the bomb squad in tow. They quickly escorted Anti to a squad car and instructed everyone else to stay in the house, far away from the bomb. The whole group watched from the front windows, on edge and waiting for the sudden explosion. Luckily, a few minutes later, the police officer working on the bomb stepped back, it having been properly defused. They then took the bomb away, and a couple officers approached the house to ask what happened. It was a long story, but ended with the group telling the police to contact Detective Nix for more information, as this was related to a case he was working on.
After it all, everyone found themselves alone, sprawled on the floor and furniture of the living room. Nobody said anything for a long, long time.
Until someone started laughing.
“Who the fuck...?” Chase lifted his head, looking around. “Marvin?”
“Why d’you go to me?” Marvin grumbled.
“Because it’s a guy, but Jackie and Schneep are out of it and that’s not Jack’s laugh,” Chase said. “Oh...that really only...leaves one other, though.”
Everyone looked towards the corner. Sure enough, Jameson was laughing. Sitting on the floor, laughing hard enough that tears were coming from his eyes. Then those tears increased. The laughter turned uneven, and soon he was crying.
Schneep shook his head, returning to reality. He stood up from the chair he was sitting in, only to drop down to the floor next to Jameson. “Is everything okay?” he asked quietly.
Jameson nodded, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.
“Do you...need anything?” Schneep asked.
Jameson didn’t know how to answer that, so he just shrugged.
“Hmm.” Schneep scooted closer. After a moment, Jameson leaned against him, drained but still crying softly. “We will just be quiet then, yes? Unless you want to listen to voices speaking.”
'I’m fine, thank you,' Jameson signed shakily. He closed his eyes, utterly exhausted. One word echoed in his mind.
‘Finally.’