Part Seven of the Switch AU
A JSE Fanfic
[This is part of an ongoing fic series I started in April 2019. Marvin gets really sick. While JJ figures out how to handle this, Marvin thinks he's beginning to remember something... though it's hard to sort it all out.]
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The final bit of the rehearsal was coming up, and energy was running low. As it always was, nobody likes doing the same thing over and over, even if that thing was running through a magic show. Maybe ESPECIALLY if that was a magic show, where stress was running high to make sure every trick was going right.
“Alright, everyone, let’s take a ten-minute break,” Jameson called out, pulling off his mask and rubbing his forehead where the plastic had dug in. “When we get back we’ll do a test run with sound.”
Darla, the stage manager, nodded. “Alright, take a ten everyone!” she repeated. “Hey lighting! That includes you too!” Then she turned to JJ. “Hey speaking of lighting, you should ask your friend in the audience if it looks alright from the house.”
“Will do.” JJ spared a moment to scan the rows of seats, making sure he knew where Marvin was sitting. Sure enough, Marvin was smack dab in the middle of the seats. JJ waved at him before going backstage, finding the small stairwell that connected to the floor of the auditorium.
Marvin had somehow managed to find a small piece of plywood, probably from prop storage backstage, and set it across the arms of the chairs next to him to make a simple table. JJ slid into the seat next to him, the one that wasn’t covered by the plywood. “So, what do you think so far?” he asked. Then he glanced at the makeshift table surface. “…are you playing solitaire?”
“Techn’cally I’m playin’ Good Neighbors, but sometimes it’s called Monte Carlo Solitaire, so I can see the confusion,” Marvin said. “See, the cards are in a five-card square. Y’have to match two cards of the same value t’at are next to each other. Up-down, left-right, or diagonal. T’en you discard the pair, and fill in the square wit’ cards from the deck, movin’ left and up.” Marvin paused. “Oh I’m sorry, you asked me somet’ing before t’at. To answer, it looks to be goin’ smoothly.”
A smile teased the corner of JJ’s mouth, making his mustache twitch. “You brought your deck of cards to rehearsal?”
“Well, yes. What am I s’pposed to do when I don’ have anyt’ing to do?” Marvin swept the cards into a pile, patting them into a single deck, then finally looked over at JJ. “Did y’know t’at every time you shuffle a deck you likely create a brand-new combination of cards? Never before seen. Because t’ere are so many possibilities, odds are more in favor of you makin’ somet’ing new instead of anyt’ing else.”
“Yes, I think I heard that somewhere. That’s fascinating,” JJ nodded. Marvin would do this sometimes, dump a bunch of information about something all at once. Normally JJ would listen to him for a while, but right now he had a point to make. He could ask him again later. “So Darla wanted me to ask you if the lighting looked alright. Does it?”
“I didn’ notice anyt’ing off, no.” Marvin looked over at the stage. “‘Twas very impressive, if you ask me. But t’ere’s a chance I’m easily impressed. Looks jus’ as magic as the actual wizardry.”
“Oh no, I’m no good at light magic. That’s why I have talented people doing it for me.” JJ smiled. “I’ll tell them you said that, though.”
Marvin flashed a grin, but it faded unusually quickly. He was absentmindedly playing with the deck of cards, taking ones from the back and putting them in front in a repetitive motion.
“Hey…” JJ cleared his throat. “Are you…alright?”
“Why wouldn’ I be?”
JJ shifted in the seat. “I don’t know. But…we never did talk about what happened last week—”
Marvin stiffened, and JJ instantly knew he’d gone too far. He could practically see him swinging the mental gates shut. “T’ere’s not much to talk about. T’ere was a demon. He came after us. I let slip to ev'ryone else t’at I was from the past. T’at’s all.”
“Alright,” JJ backed down. Maybe he could’ve handled that more delicately…clearly it was still a bit close to the surface for Marvin.
And why wouldn’t it be? That…creature—Distorter—somehow got in his head with only a few simple words, turning him against the others instantly. That was sure to unnerve anyone. And the conversation the next day hadn’t exactly helped. Having to tell Jackie, Schneep, and Anti the truth about where Marvin actually came from had been…awkward. Jackie seemed to accept it strangely easily, saying it explained a lot of things, but the other two had many, MANY questions, which simply couldn’t be answered.
How did you get here? “I don’ know.”
Was it magic? “I don’ know.”
Can you go back? “I don’ know.”
Because the simple truth was that Marvin had no memory of traveling through time at all. From his perspective, he was in 1928 one day, and then all of a sudden nearly ninety years had passed.
“If y’want advice,” Marvin suddenly said, bringing JJ back to the current moment, “I t’ink one of the spotlights might be slightly out of alignment, because it looked a little bit more left—stage left—t’an it was supposed to be. I don’ know if the lighting crew know t’at.”
“I’ll let them know,” JJ assured him.
“How much longer will t’is last?”
“It’s hard to tell.” JJ shrugged. “It’s supposed to end at seven, but we might go over.”
Marvin sighed. “Alrigh’, good to know. If t’at’s the case, I’m goin’ t’start playing a round of Pyramid.” He began shuffling the card deck.
JJ stood. “I’m going to get something from the vending machines, you want a snack?
“One of t’ose bubbly drinks? Not the brown sodas, the orange ones.”
“Got it. I’ll be back.”
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The rehearsal ended right on time, which was good, because when JJ and Marvin went to head out to the theatre parking lot, they found the sky was full of drifting white flakes.
“Oh it’s snowing!” JJ gasped, smiling wide. “It’s perfect weather for Christmas coming up.”
“Jems, it’s the middle of November,” Marvin mumbled, eyes tracking the falling clumps of flakes. “Y’cannae wait until the twelve days act’ally start? Or at least ‘til the first.”
“Oh, alright. But still, it’s snowing!” JJ clapped his hands. “Usually it’s just rainy in the winter. Can you blame me for getting excited?”
“I s’pose not.” Marvin wasn’t as excited. Snowing lead to snow on the ground, snow on the ground led to ice, ice led to slipping…he gripped the top of his cane tight.
As if picking up on his worry, JJ reached out and gently grabbed Marvin’s arm. “C’mon, let’s go. I parked a bit far away, we should hurry.” He sighed. “I knew we should’ve brought coats. Stupid incorrect forecast.”
Luckily nothing happened on the way to the car, except for getting snowed on. But it was once they arrived when the problems started. “…I did take the keys, right?” JJ asked, searching his pockets.
“Well how would we have gotten here if y’hadn’?” Marvin pointed out.
“I mean back outside. I put them in my pocket, right?” JJ turned around and looked back the way they came. “They didn’t fall out, did they?”
“If you’re sure they’re not in your pocket, they must’ve,” Marvin reasoned. “Unless you left them inside.”
“That’s a possibility,” JJ mumbled. He scrunched his face in thought. “Guess we’ll have to go back and look.”
“You go.” Marvin lightly jabbed JJ’s side with the end of his cane. “I already braved the slippery death hazard, once is enough.”
JJ frowned. “You sure? We can’t get in the car, so you’ll be standing out here…getting snowed on.”
“I’d rather t’at t’an fall. You go ahead, I’ll wait here.”
“You’re SURE?”
Marvin sighed. “Yes. I’m sure. I apprec'ate your worry, but it’ll be fine.”
JJ still looked uncertain, but he nodded. “You have your phone? You can call me if anything happens?”
“Yes, I know how to use the call feature.” Marvin jabbed him again, but JJ narrowly dodged. “Now hurry. The sooner ye get t’is done with, the sooner we’ll be home.”
“Okay, okay.” JJ started heading back. “I’ll be right back, don’t worry!”
“I won’!” Marvin said.
Marvin knew there was no winning in this situation. He goes back across the parking lot, odds were he’d slip and might break something. He stays by the car, he’d probably catch a cold, or otherwise end up sick. So it was really a matter of choosing which one he’d rather deal with.
He slumped down the side of the car and sat directly on the parking lot asphalt, pressing his back against the tire. At least this way he didn’t have to keep walking.
There was a soft sound nearby, and Marvin’s head whipped in that direction, only to see a lump of snow falling from a nearby tree branch. He didn’t relax. What if something caused that, other than accumulating snow particles? He pulled his cane onto his lap and gripped it tight.
There had been a bunch of crew members at the rehearsal. If it was a person, it was probably just one of them. Yet Marvin couldn’t keep his eyes from darting around, looking for a smile, a hint of bloody tears…
By the time Jameson got back, he was shivering from more than just the cold.
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The next day, JJ wandered downstairs sometime around noon, and found Marvin sitting at the dining room table, still in his pajamas. An unusual sight to begin with, as Marvin wasn’t one to wear sleepwear for anything other than…well, sleeping. It was made even odder by the fact that Marvin looked like he just woke up. At noon. When the latest he usually slept was ten.
JJ stalled, standing in the doorway. “Um. Hi Marv.”
“H’llo,” Marvin mumbled. He blinked slowly. “I put the kettle on, hope y’don’ mind. Didn’…need it or anyt’in’.”
“No, I don’t usually make tea at lunchtime. And…neither do you.”
“I know…it’s jus’…cold.” Marvin yawned. “Used the last of the white tea, too, hope y’don’…mind.”
It actually wasn’t particularly cold. JJ had made sure to turn up the heat when he got up that morning, to counteract the chill brought by the snow. He approached Marvin, reaching out his hand. “May I—oh!” Marvin suddenly leaned his head forward until his forehead had fallen into JJ’s outstretched palm. JJ hissed, concern etched on his face. “Marvin, you’re burning up.”
“Yea…I figured.” Marvin closed his eyes. “Mh…your hands are cold. They always seem it, is t’at part of the…the ice? Ice and water.”
“I’m not sure. Maybe.” JJ slowly withdrew his hand. Marvin’s head tilted a bit when the support was removed. “Marvin…besides being cold, do you feel off in any other way?”
“Mm…’m a bit dizzy,” Marvin admitted. “An’ me legs hurt, which is odd…us’ally they’re jus’…tired, and don’ work proper.” His eyelids fluttered. “Hurts t’look around, too.”
JJ bit back a curse. “Marvin, you should go back to bed.”
“No, ‘m fine. I slept late enough.” Now, normally at this point, Marvin would try to stand up and walk away, to prove how not-sick he was. JJ knew this, it had happened often enough. But Marvin didn’t even attempt to move. And that was a bad sign.
“Marvin, I think this is serious,” JJ said, his voice grave. “How did you manage to make tea?”
“Same way I always do,” Marvin shrugged. “I fed Mister, too. Might’ve spilled the cat food, though.”
“Just—just go back to bed, okay? Please? I can bring you the tea later.”
Marvin looked up at JJ, then nodded. “Alrigh’, since you’re so worried.” He grabbed his cane, and after a moment got to his feet, though he was swaying. JJ wanted to help, but he knew that wouldn’t end well. Marvin would just insist he could do it anyway. At least they’d moved his bedroom to the first floor, so there were no stairs to worry about. “What’re you goin’ t’do? Did ye come in here to…I dunnae, make food, probably.”
He’d actually planned on making a quick lunch before going back upstairs to continue studying the spell he was working on, but those plans had gone out the window. “I’m going to just—just check on things in here, and then I’m going to call Jackie,” JJ explained. “Then I’ll meet you in there, okay?”
“Alrigh’.”
JJ watched Marvin make his way down the hall, leaning heavily on the wall. Once he was sure he was in his room, JJ examined the kitchen and dining room. The kettle was on the stove, but the stove actually wasn’t on, and there was a puddle of water on the counter. The cupboard where they kept the food for the cat was wide open, the bag tipped over. Judging by the state of it, Mr. Fluffington had a great day with that. JJ cleaned up the messes, turned the stove on, and then called Jackie. He was probably at work, but JJ would prefer to bring symptoms to a doctor instead of the Internet.
After four rings, the call was picked up. “What’s up, Jays?” Jackie asked by way of greeting.
“Marvin’s sick again,” JJ got straight to the point. “I…I think it’s bad.”
“Really? Why?”
“Well, he didn’t protest too much when I told him to go back to bed.”
“OH.”
“Exactly.”
“What’re the symptoms? How’s he feeling? Anything happen recently that might have caused something?”
JJ relayed what Marvin told him, as well as the high temperature. “I think…last night, after rehearsal, we walked out to the car but I forgot my keys, and he insisted he’d rather wait outside instead of walking across the parking lot again. It was snowing.”
“How long was it before you got back?”
“I don’t know…thirty, forty minutes?” JJ squirmed. He couldn’t believe he’d left him out there for that long.
“Okay, hopefully it’s just a fever,” Jackie surmised. “But keep an eye on him, in case it turns out to be something worse. Also, can you take his temperature?”
“Yes, just give me a minute, I need to find the thermometer.”
A few minutes later, JJ walked into Marvin’s room with the first aid kit they kept in the bathroom. Marvin was lying on the bed under the comforter. His hand was flung out, resting on an open book on the nightstand, but he was staring up at the ceiling, not even attempting to read. The cat, Mr. Fluffington, was in there too, curled up in a ball at the foot of the bed.
“Hey Marvin,” JJ said. “Jackie told me to take your temperature.”
Marvin didn’t look at him. “How d’you do that?”
“Ah, I just need to put this under your tongue.” JJ held up the thermometer.
“Alrigh’.” Marvin pushed himself into a sitting position. “Let’s do t’is fast.”
The minute the temperature taking was don, Marvin lied back down and closed his eyes. JJ bit his lip, concerned. Marvin’s skin was a lot more flushed than it had been when he last saw him. He picked up the phone again; thankfully Jackie hadn’t hung up. “Okay, I got it.”
“So? What’s the temperature?” Jackie prompted.
“Ah…” JJ squinted at the digital readout. “Forty point three degrees.”
“I’m sorry, WHAT?!”
JJ had to hold the phone away from his ear. “40.3. Guess that would round down to 40? Is that bad?”
“You need to get him to the hospital.” Jackie’s tone was one JJ had never heard before; there was an absolute, no-nonsense bite to his flat statement.
“What? We can’t—is it really that…? I know your body temperature is supposed to be 37 degrees, it’s only a little bit higher.”
“When it’s the inside of your BODY, full of sensitive organs and shit, a few degrees means a lot!” Jackie hissed. “40 degrees is a high-grade fever, and yeah, that’s BAD. In fact, that’s the higher end of that grade, any higher and it’s an emergency. If this is just the first day, then it could easily rise to that emergency state. You need to get him attention.”
JJ lowered the phone for a moment. “Hey, ah, Marvin?”
“Hm?” Marvin opened one eye and looked at him.
“Jackie says you should go to the hospital.”
Marvin suddenly shot up, then swayed and pressed a hand to his head. “No, we can’t!”
“I know, it’s going to suck, but this—”
“Jems, they’re goin’ t’ask for records,” Marvin interrupted, eyes wide. “They’re goin t’ask for…for medical…they’re going to know somet’in’s wrong. I don’ have a birth cert’ficate, how can I have t’ings like t’at?”
JJ stared at him, then raised the phone again. “Hey Jackie, is the hospital going to ask for medical records?”
“I mean, yes, we’ll need them to—oh. OH.” Jackie paused. “Normally I wouldn’t encourage forgery, but—”
“I don’t think we have time for that, to be honest,” JJ said. “Maybe for the next time, but for now? I mean, we can try to get things ready for in case this goes downhill, but not today, or probably even tomorrow. And I can’t magic things like that up, so don’t ask.”
“Shit.” There was a long silence on Jackie’s end, then a deep breath. “Okay, if it’s going to be like this, you can keep him home. But you need to stay with him. If you have any ibuprofen, have him take two or three tablets. Have him drink lots of water, maybe get a fan or something. And for god’s sake, get him out of those long-sleeve shirts he likes, it’ll only make everything worse.”
“I can do that,” JJ said, nodding as he mentally took notes.
“Great. I can drop by tomorrow, or the day after, worst-case scenario. Just check on things in person.”
“Got it.”
“I’ll see you then, then. Bye.”
JJ ended the call, looking back over at Marvin, who was once again lying down. “So, you definitely need to stay in bed. This is…serious. You’re not dying or anything,” JJ hurried to add when he saw Marvin’s eyes widen. “It’s just…bad. I’m going to stay home, if you need anything.”
Marvin frowned. “Don’ y'have anot’er rehearsal in a few days?”
“I can cancel it.”
“Y’don’ have to.”
“I want to,” JJ said firmly.
Marvin stared at him, not saying anything for a moment. Then he nodded. “Thank you, Jems.”
“It’s no problem,” JJ assured him. “Now get some rest. I’m going to go see what we can do to make this easier for you.”
Marvin mumbled something, then closed his eyes.
JJ exhaled quietly. He could manage this. And hopefully, Marvin wouldn’t get any worse. It was already bad enough as it was.
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Marvin couldn’t get to sleep that night. Part of him wanted to blame that on staying in bed all day, but despite that, he felt the heavy weight of dreamland pulling at his eyes. He probably would’ve fallen asleep under normal circumstances. But these weren’t normal circumstances.
Despite having chills lasting the whole day, distracting to the point where he could hardly concentrate on his book, Marvin now felt like he was inside a lit furnace. Even though JJ had brought in an electric fan and forced Marvin to exchange his dress shirt for one of his T-shirts, Marvin couldn’t find a space or position where it felt any remotely cooler. And not for lack of trying. He kept tossing and turning, wrapping his sheets around his legs. At some point he must’ve kicked off his comforter, but he didn’t remember doing that.
He opened his eyes, looking at the handy digital clock on the nightstand. The glowing numbers wavered, shimmering like a mirage before he finally latched onto a one, a zero, and a three. Oh, was it ten-thirty already? Shouldn’t he be getting up? Why was it so dark?
The lumps and shapes in the darkness of the room didn’t look familiar at all. There was a person there, Marvin thought. “Stop starin’ at me,” he mumbled, turning his head to the other side of the room.
The doorway loomed large. It was coming closer. It was going to swallow him! Marvin scooted backwards, and then suddenly fell a few feet to the floor. He blinked, looking around the darkness.
It was raining. The water was pouring down from the sky, landing on him. Marvin scowled at the sky. He shouldn’t have left the house without his hat at this time of year. Now his hair was going to get wet. But that should really be the last of his concerns at this moment. He didn’t recognize the street at all. Or he did, it almost looked familiar, the shapes of some of the buildings, but it looked…transformed.
“Are you lost?”
Marvin looked around for the source of the voice.
“You look lost.”
There was a man on the street. What did he look like? Marvin couldn’t tell. But he was wearing odd clothes; Marvin had never seen that type of hat before.
“‘m fine,” Marvin said.
“No you’re not.”
His head felt full of soup. Thoughts were swirling about like someone was stirring thick broth. Why was he so hot? He was sweating, hair sticking to his forehead. No, that was the rain. It was raining.
“Come here.” The man grabbed his hand. “I’ll take you somewhere safe.”
Marvin shook his head, mumbling a protest. He…didn’t he have to be somewhere? Wasn’t he going to an audition? How did he get here, to this strange street? At night too, when it had been daytime just a few minutes before?
The man turned to smile at him, flashing a smile. No, he’d always been smiling. Little alarm bells went off in Marvin’s mind. “’m fine,” Marvin insisted. He tried to pull his hand free, but the man had it in a tight grip. That only made Marvin try all the harder to get it away.
“Shh, it’s going to be okay. Just follow me.” What did his voice sound like? How come he couldn’t figure out what it sounded like? Something was wrong.
“No, I-I need to…to…” Thoughts were fuzzy, starting to blur. That wasn’t how it was supposed to be. He was in a different street now, why was he here? It was even darker, how much time had passed? What was happening?
Something hit Marvin’s face.
“…wh?” Marvin opened his eyes. And at that moment, he realized he closed them at some point. Weak early morning light was filtering through the curtains, he was lying on the floor, and his cat was on his chest. Mr. Fluffington blinked at him, then bumped his face against Marvin’s cheek. He must’ve done that earlier, too, which was what got Marvin’s attention and woke him up.
Marvin groaned. “I…fell asleep…I t’ink.” He didn’t remember it happening. And not in the way you never remember the moment when you drifted off, but there really hadn’t been a difference between the waking world and…whatever just happened. It felt like he was awake. And he still felt just as tired. But then he had that dream…
“…must’ve been a dream,” Marvin said, absentmindedly scratching Mr. Fluffington behind the ears. But…it had felt like more than that. It had felt…familiar. What was the word? Deja vu? Yes, exactly. Like reliving a memory he’d forgotten.
Mr. Fluffington purred, then sank down into a loaf position, closing his eyes and resting his head against Marvin’s neck. Marvin sighed. “Y’couldn’ have waited until I got back ‘nto bed?” Of course, Fluffington didn’t answer, but he settled into place almost as if showing how much he refused to move. Marvin sighed. “Alrigh’…guess I’m stuck.” He looked around. The nightstand was right by his arm, if he could just…reach up and…
His hand clumsily felt around the surface until he hit something, knocking it down to the floor. His phone. Marvin picked it up, unlocked it one-handedly, and dialed JJ’s number.
It rang forever before it was picked up. “Marvin? D’you need something?”
“I don’ know. Mister is on me.” Marvin pet the cat’s head while he talked. “I can’ move, but it’s…uncomfort’ble.”
“What do you want me to do about it?”
“Not’ing. Just letting you know so y’don’ t’ink it’s odd when you come t’check later an’ I’m still here.”
A long silence. “Marvin, where are you?” JJ asked, sounding like he didn’t want to know the answer.
“On the floor.”
JJ sighed so loudly that it could be heard through the speakers without much interference. “I’m coming down there.”
“T’at’s fair.”
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Jackie dropped by the house around two-thirty, bringing a surprise second guest with him. He knocked on Marvin’s door, waiting for a vague approval before opening it and coming inside. “Hey, Marv!” Jackie smiled. “How are you feeling?”
“Exactly how you t’ink I ‘m.” Marvin opened his eyes, looking over at the other two. He raised an eyebrow when he saw who else came. “H’llo Anti, didn’ expect you here.”
“Yeah, well.” Anti folded his arms, leaning against the nearest wall. “Jackie was giving me a ride to a thing, and this was on the way, so I figured why not come inside where it’s warm? How you doing, man?”
A grin flitted across Marvin’s face. “What kind o’ t’ing?”
“A…Internet thing,” Anti said haltingly. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Sure.” Marvin covered his eyes with his arm, but kept smiling. “Tell me what ever ye want.”
Anti glared, but didn’t say anything. Meanwhile, Jackie pulled a chair from the corner of the room over to the bedside, sitting down. “Jays gave me your first aid kit—he’s waiting outside, by the way, I think he was nervous about coming in—so I’m just going to take your temperature again.”
“Mhm,” Marvin mumbled. God, it was hot in here. He reached over and turned up the speed of the electric fan on the nightstand.
“Just say ‘ahh’.” Jackie paused. “I didn’t mean to say that, I’m working on autopilot here, I’m used to doing this with kids.”
Marvin chuckled. “Y’can say what ever y’want as sure as y’get it done with.”
Afterward, Jackie examined the reading on the thermometer. His brows drew together, and he grimaced. “So. It’s not going down.”
“Alrigh’.”
“Do you feel any worse than you did yesterday?”
Marvin shrugged as best he could. “Didn’ sleep well last night. But I did fall ‘sleep t’is morning so…t’at. A little bit o’ a headache.”
Jackie bit his lip. “Okay. Are you feeling tired? Or fatigued? You remember the fatigue scale I gave you last month? Can you tell me how you feel based on that?”
Marvin closed his eyes, picturing the chart Jackie had shown him in his mind. “Eight?” he guessed.
“That’s a high number,” Anti remarked. “Why do I get the feeling it would’ve been higher if you were being honest?”
Jackie sighed. “Anti, for god’s sake—”
“Hey, where are your kids?” Marvin suddenly asked. “I jus’ rememb’red them. Aren’ you two s’pposed to be…wit’ them?”
“I’m going to pick up Michelle soon,” Jackie explained. “Rama would’ve done it, but we only have one car and I was already out.”
“Will takes the bus home, I usually just meet him at the stop,” Anti said.
“C’n I ask what h’ppened to your…partner?” That was the appropriate term people used in this modern time, right? “Jus’…’cause otherwise she could…do t’at.”
“Oh. Uh, there never was one,” Anti said. For once, he looked uncomfortable. “ I, uh, don’t like girls that way. Or guys. Or anyone.”
Marvin looked at him, wide-eyed. “T’at’s allowed?!”
“I mean, they’re not going to murder you if you don’t get married.”
“Huh.” Marvin covered his eyes again. “I didn’ know feeling t’at way was possible. T’at’s great, t’at is. T’ings are always changin’.”
“Okay, uh, anyway,” Jackie interrupted. “Anything else of note happen this morning? Or yesterday, last night, y’know.”
Marvin hesitated. “Had a weird dream.”
“Really? Why was it weirder than any other dream?”
“Well, it…” Marvin struggled to find the words. “…didn’…start. I didn’ fall asleep an’ it happened, it jus’…was, all of a sudden. I t’ought it was real. Realer t’an…you us’ally t’ink dreams are. Real life.”
“…oh.” Jackie’s eyes were wide, and he nodded quickly. “Okay, that’s—that’s good to know.”
“Y’goin’ t’stick aroun’?” Marvin asked. “‘m bored…Jems has stuff to do, don’ wan’ t’distract him too much. I’d like…people. Wh’abou’ Hen? Where’s he?”
“Well, I said I have to pick up Michelle, and Volt’s at work,” Jackie said softly.
“I would stay, but, y’know. There’s a nine-year-old kid I have to watch,” Anti shrugged.
“T’anks anyway,” Marvin mumbled. He closed his eyes, still hidden. He was tired…how was he so tired when he’d slept for so much of the morning?
“Well, I can see if I can drop by later,” Jackie said, trying to sound cheerful. “But we have to go now.”
“Have fun,” Marvin said. Then he wondered why he said that.
“Yeah, sure.”
Jackie and Anti left the room, almost running into JJ, who’d been pacing the hallway. “So?” JJ said, folding his arms. “Is it—is he—?”
“Y’know, I think we should get started on forging those papers,” Jackie said.
“…it’s worse, isn’t it?” JJ asked, voice full of dread.
“Well, his temperature’s even higher,” Jackie admitted. “And I…think he might’ve…maybe…had a hallucination last night.”
“WHAT?!”
“I mean, I don’t know, but from what he told me, maybe?” Jackie winced. “So, yeah, we need those records soon, in case it gets to an emergency state.”
“I can do that,” Anti suggested.
“Of course you can, hacker-man.”
“Is there anything I can do?” JJ asked. He was chewing on his fingernails.
“You’re doing good already,” Jackie assured him. “Just…just keep checking on him. Maybe get a damp cloth and put it on his head, that could help him feel a little better.”
“I did that yesterday, I can do it again.”
“Good.” Jackie turned to Anti. “You’re serious about those forgeries?”
“Course I am.”
“Then you should get started. Just in case.”
As Jackie and Anti headed to leave, JJ called out, “Hey…what’ll happen if it gets worse?”
Jackie hesitated. “We’ll make sure it doesn’t get to that point.”
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Why was it so hot?
It really shouldn’t be this hot, it was getting close to winter. Marvin would’ve sat up and put his face directly in front of the electric fan, if he thought he would’ve been able to hold himself up for long enough.
JJ had come into the room at some point, but Marvin hadn’t noticed. He was just there, all of a sudden. He’d brought a sandwich and drink, but Marvin wasn’t hungry.
“‘s not fair,” Marvin mumbled. “Y’have magic healing t’ings. Can’ you do somet’in’ ‘bout t’is?”
“Well, healing is a bit more complicated than just waving a wand and having everything suddenly be cured,” JJ said patiently. “Most healing spells are directed towards wounds, not diseases. The ones that are are…super complicated. I’ve been looking into them, but they’re a bit above my level. Not to mention, you’d need to know exactly what was wrong, and I’m no doctor. There are spells that can help clear your head or give you a burst of energy, true, but right now you need rest, not energy. Otherwise you’d just, I dunno, try to run an errand or something.”
Marvin made a face at him, but didn’t deny it. “Wh’abou’ potions? I’d drink a potion.”
“Those are a different thing entirely,” JJ said, sighing. “They could help, but…oh, it’s complicated. Magic is complicated. I didn’t sign up for this. Anyway, you’re basically asking a biologist to do rocket science. It might happen, but they’d have to do extensive studying.”
“Hngh,” Marvin groaned. “If I had magic, I’d fix…”
“Fix what?”
“I dunnae. T’is.” Marvin waved his hand vaguely.
“I see.” JJ nudged the plate he’d put on the nightstand a little closer to Marvin. “You should really eat something.”
Marvin didn’t answer. He was staring at the ceiling. “We’re underwater.”
“I—what?”
“Up t’ere. The sky.” He pointed upward. “The bones are swimming.”
Well that wasn’t ominous at all. “Marvin,” JJ said slowly, “there aren’t any bones.”
“No, of course not. T’ose are under the floor.” Marvin blinked. “What d’you do when they stop bein’ useful? Y’make them stay until the’re just bones. T’en ye throw them away when t’ere’s no more room.”
“Marvin, I think you should go to sleep,” JJ said cautiously. “That, or eat something. Actually, eat, and then go to bed. You didn’t have breakfast, you slept through it.” He should also think about giving him some more medicine. Maybe they had some extra-strength Tylenol or something. He didn’t really want to leave Marvin to go get some if they didn’t; he’d have to call someone about that.
“Mmm, fine, I’ll eat…somet’in’.” Despite saying this, Marvin rolled over and immediately fell asleep.
JJ sighed, then reached over and brushed Marvin’s hair out of his face. The strands were sticky with sweat, and his skin felt like brushing against a radiator. Out of curiosity, JJ pressed his fingers to Marvin’s neck, and felt a rapid pulse beneath the skin.
He would wait for him to wake up. And he’d watch…for anything.
.............................................................................................
The next few hours passed in a dizzy, wavering blur. Marvin was vaguely aware of tossing and turning, of having JJ make him drink a glass of water with pills at one point. But those moments were hazy around the edges. He almost laughed, remembering this all happened because he didn’t want to walk back inside. But then he wondered why he thought that. He was already inside. He must’ve gone back inside.
It was dark in here. It was nighttime. The stars above were shining bright. He reached out and grabbed one, but let go when it burned his hand. That made the stars flee, and now there was a single lightbulb overhead. Flickering. Flickering. A moth with shining wings, fluttering a signal that he couldn’t understand.
He rolled over, finding something wrapped around his waist. He turned over again to unwrap it, but something else grabbed his arms. What—no! No, it couldn’t—he flailed suddenly. He wouldn’t be kept here, he wouldn’t! You couldn’t keep him here like this!
His eyes flicked across the dark room. Shapes, shapes, unfamiliar yet familiar shapes. Where was he? He knew he was here, standing and watching with that smug, constant grin. He could hear him laughing at his struggles. “Leave me alone,” Marvin mumbled, unable to stop a sob from creeping in. “Leave me alone, ‘m not—’m not your…please.”
Just more laughter. Chills suddenly shivered across his body. Something was touching him—no, someone. Marvin cried out, falling backwards in shock, and he was surprised to fall a few feet onto a hard surface. No, he had to leave, he had to get out of here! His head was swimming, fuzzy, blanking out, but he managed to stand up and start walking to the door. Leave the room, then find the trapdoor, he could do it. He had to get out of here.
Then someone grabbed him again. “No!” Marvin cried. It was him, it had to be, he couldn’t let him catch him. He tried to shrug him off, but just ended up shaking uselessly, too tired to do anything more. Liquid was dripping from his eyes—tears or more blood?
The someone set him down again, and Marvin immediately tried to roll off again, only to be pushed back. Suddenly, a blue light bloomed before his eyes. He cried out, burrowing his face in the pillow. He didn’t know what that was, but it couldn’t be good. It never was, in this place.
The basement room was flooded with light, and Marvin could’ve seen him, if he wanted to. But he looked away. “Don’…don’ do…don’…please,” he muttered. “Anyt’in’, jus’…I won’ hurt…don’ make me…hurt…”
Someone was saying words, but he didn’t listen. He didn’t want to hear those words, that phrase.
He couldn’t tell how much time passed before the someone picked him up. He tried to fight against it, but his struggles were barely noticeable. He couldn’t keep his eyes open.
Then, all of a sudden, it was cold.
Then, all of a sudden, he was sitting, staring out a pane of glass at surroundings moving much faster than they should’ve been able to.
Then, all of a sudden, the world was white, and filled with chatter.
Then he was asleep.
.............................................................................................
“Go home, dude.”
“I-I can’t do that, I need to—”
“Jesus christ, Jackson, you look awful. Go home. Go to sleep. I’m sure Marvin would appreciate you staying this long.”
“But what if something happens?”
“Jackie trusts these people, that means they’re capable. Jackie himself is on call if we need him. I got all the documents made up, and trust me when I say they’re perfect copies. Go take care of yourself.”
Marvin opened his eyes to unfamiliar surroundings. This room was white, very clean-looking. He was lying in a bed that he didn’t recognize the feel of. When he turned his head to the side, he saw Anti, standing, and JJ, sitting in an uncomfortable-looking plastic chair by the bedside. The two of them seemed to be talking, and JJ had big, dark circles under his eyes. “Y’look tired,” Marvin said quietly.
JJ jumped, immediately spinning around. He smiled wide. “Marvin! You’re awake, thank god. How are you? How do you feel?”
“…confused.” Marvin looked around again. There was a pole with a plastic bag, and the bag had a tube leading into this arm. “Where’m I?”
“The hospital.” JJ swallowed. “It’s the morning of the seventeenth. You were…you were acting…last night, it…I was worried.”
“You are so lucky I finished making your forgeries last night, too,” Anti muttered.
JJ glared at him. “Maybe don’t mention that in earshot of the doctors.”
“The door’s closed, it’s fine.”
“How w’s I actin’ las’ night?” Marvin asked, picking up on one thing from JJ’s stammered statement.
JJ looked down, playing with his hands in his lap. “I think…you thought you were in danger or something. You kept…you thought I would hurt you or something. And you kept trying to get away. And saying…concerning things.” JJ swallowed. “You may have been hallucinating.”
Suddenly, things were starting to make a lot more sense. “…memory,” Marvin said.
“Excuse me?”
“I t’ink…I-I t’ink I was, but…it wasn’ somet’ing new, i-it was…based on somet’ing t’at happened.” Marvin covered his mouth with his hand. His eyes were tearing up, spilling over.
“Hey.” JJ leaned forward, reaching out. “It’s alright, now. You’re—”
“You’re goin’ t’say ‘safe’ aren’ you?” Marvin asked. He shook his head. “No, no, you’re wrong. I-I-I don’—I don’ know how I’m here, I don’ know why I’m here, and t’at THING is in my head. I-I know him. It. Which ever. It did somet’ing to me, and I-I-I’m—”
“You’re safe,” JJ insisted. He gently laid a hand on Marvin’s arm, but Marvin flinched and he withdrew it, settling for scooting closer. “Marvin, you’re okay. We’re going to be here for you. And if the Distorter comes, I will personally make sure he doesn’t lay a hand on you.”
Marvin looked over at him, then glanced away again. “What if…I-I hurt you? What if he makes me…?”
“Then I’ll get you out of there. I’ll find some spell to block his influence. In fact, I’ll start looking today.” JJ’s voice became softer. “You’re not going to get rid of me that easily, and neither will he.”
Marvin felt like crying again, though for a different reason. “I love you, Jems. You’re a good friend.”
“Love you, too. And you’re a good friend as well, don’t sell yourself short.” JJ smiled, then gave his mustache a wiggle.
Marvin laughed a bit, wiping at his eyes. He looked around the room. “So…how long will I be stuck here?”
“I’m not sure,” JJ admitted. “Until the fever breaks, I suppose. How are you feeling about that, by the way?”
“A…mite better, but not too much,” Marvin sighed. “M’brain is mushed potatoes.”
Anti suddenly cleared his throat, reminding the other two he was in the room. “I’m going to go ask the doctor how long you’ll be here. I’ll be back.” And he opened the door and left.
JJ raised an eyebrow. “I think we made him uncomfortable.”
“I should’ve said t’ank you for making the records,” Marvin said.
“You can tell him when he gets back.”
“Mmm…dunnae if t’at’ll happen.” Marvin blinked slowly. “Y’see…while we’ve been talkin’, my brain decided to pass out again.”
“Alright, go to sleep, then. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
Marvin leaned back against his pillows. “Y’shoul’ go back home at some point. Feed Mister.”
JJ smiled. “I’ll feed our esteemed cat, don’t worry.”
“Our? Excuse me, you gave him t’me.”
“I paid for all his stuff, so I get joint custody.”
Marvin would’ve rolled his eyes if he had the energy. He buried his face in the pillow instead. “Mm…Jems, when I wake up…we need t'talk about what happened last week. Or…two weeks ‘go.”
JJ’s eyes widened, but he nodded. “Of course. If you’re ready for that.”
Marvin gave him a small smile, and closed his eyes once again. There was a warmth in his chest, and not from the fever. This was from something much nicer. Much more comforting. It was…a lovely feeling.