Part Twenty of the PW Timeline
A JSE Fanfic
[This is part of a complete series I wrote from July 2019 to July of 2022. Chase and Marvin are having a fairly pleasant visit with Jack, but that's interrupted when Schneep tries to disrupt Anti's plans.]
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“You look nervous.”
“I’m not.”
“I mean, it’s understandable if you are—”
“I’m not fucking nervous, Chase.”
The elevator doors opened, forcibly stopping the brief exchange. Chase stepped out onto the third floor, glancing back over his shoulder at Marvin. “Well, if you were, I was just gonna say it’s okay to be. Now c’mon.”
Marvin hesitated. Despite what his protests would indicate, he did look rather anxious. He kept twisting the edge of his shirt around. But he took a moment to steady himself and followed Chase out of the elevator, saying nothing.
“It’s just the same room,” Chase said, gesturing down the hospital hallway. “Let’s go.”
They walked in silence for a while, passing by closed doors, each with a room beyond. Chase kept looking back towards Marvin. This would probably be the first time he’d left his house in a couple weeks, something that Chase knew from experience wasn’t good for your health. Marvin looked fine, physically. His hair was combed and pulled back in a ponytail, his shirt and pants neat. But he just seemed…not as energetic. If that made sense. Hopefully, this would be good for him.
They soon reached the room they were looking for. Chase was about to knock on the door when Marvin suddenly asked, “Do you think he’ll be mad at me?”
Chase blinked. Then laughed, in an effort to lighten the mood. “Why would he be mad at you?”
“I don’t know. I mean, I hardly ever went to visit him.” Marvin continued to twist the hem of his shirt. “A-and I haven’t seen him at all since he woke up.”
“Marv. Trust me. Jack wouldn’t be mad at you for something like that.” Chase instinctively went to pat him on the back, but Marvin leaned away, so he dropped it and settled for a reassuring smile. “He’s not that type of guy.”
“Would he be…disappointed?” Marvin asked tentatively.”I-I don’t want to make him feel bad, he probably has enough to deal with—”
“It’s going to be alright, Marvin. Jack knows you didn’t mean to hurt him by not visiting. And besides, you’re visiting now, aren’t you? So it all works out.” Chase waited for Marvin to say more, but he just nodded, breathing out slowly. “Alright, we’re gonna go in now, okay?” Marvin nodded again, and Chase knocked on the door before slowly opening it. “Hello? It’s me.”
Jack turned to look towards the door. The moment he saw Chase, he smiled, and reached to the side and adjusted the controls of the bed to a sitting position. “Hii Shhays.”
“Hey bro. Look, I brought a friend.” Chase stepped into the room, allowing Marvin to take his place in the doorway.
Marvin froze for a moment. He stared at Jack, taking in the bed, the wires, the oxygen tube. Then he waved. “Um…hi.”
“Mahfin!” Jack grinned even wider. “‘S good t’see yuh!” He waved Marvin over.
“Ha. Y-yeah, good to see you, too.” Marvin stepped inside. “Oh, uh, d’you want this open?”
“S’fffine.”
“Alright, then.” He closed the door.
“Hey, c’mon, Marv, sit down.” Chase walked over to the side of the bed, indicating one of the nearby chairs. “Get comfy in the plastic hospital chair.”
Marvin laughed, and followed Chase over to the bed. They both sat, and Jack leaned over to pick up his communication board from the nearby table. He pointed to the 'How are you?' box.
“Eh. We’re alright, I guess,” Chase said, glancing at Marvin.
“I…well, I’ve been…” Marvin stopped, the words getting caught in his throat. “It’s fine, though. Probably nothing compared to what you’re going through.”
Jack frowned. It was a small, awkward gesture, something his facial muscles were still having trouble with. He indicated the 'I don’t think so' box.
“What’s that s’posed to mean?” Marvin asked, confused.
“It means he’s doubting you,” Chase explained. Jack nodded.
“Well, I mean…it’s fine,” Marvin said slowly. “Honestly, I’d rather talk about you. Like, how are you doing? What are you doing? It can’t be too fun being stuck in here.”
Jack still looked unsure, but he shook his head, and tapped a box labeled 'I agree.'
“You’ve got a TV in here now, though,” Chase said, pointing to the corner. A big box television sat on top of a wheeled cart. “It looks like the ones they used to bring into classrooms in elementary school, y’know?”
Marvin and Jack just stared at him. “I think that’s an American thing,” Marvin said. “Or at least, something that wasn’t common where we were from.”
“Ah. Well, they did it all the time. A couple classrooms had them bottled to the ceilings in the corner and you watched movies on it, but you were always too far away to see it properly.” Chase laughed a bit. “But still, there’s probably only so much TV you can take.”
Jack groaned, rolling his eyes. He emphatically tapped the 'I agree' box.
Marvin smiled a bit. “Well, don’t you have hospital stuff to do? Like, examinations and shit?”
Jack pointed to the 'Yes' box. “Therrs…th’rapy. Lotta it.”
“Yeah, like speech therapy, physical therapy, probably a million other kinds.” Chase nodded. “Oh, speaking of which, you sound much better! Good job, bro.”
“Thnkss.” Jack smiled a bit.
“Y’know, I did some, uh…I don’t know if it was physical therapy exactly, but I did some exercises as a kid,” Marvin recalled. “Because I was severely uncoordinated. Tripped over my own feet to the point Grandmam was worried about it.” He paused. “I don’t know what I mean by that. I guess I’m just saying I relate a bit. It’s probably not the same thing, though.”
“Nnoh, ‘sfine,” Jack assured him. “I geddid. Ah.” He made a face. “I. Get. It.”
“Good, then.” For a moment, there was just silence. It stretched long enough to get awkward, and just when Chase was about to change the subject, Marvin blurted out, “I’m sorry I never came to see you, Jack.”
Jack blinked. “Hm?”
“Well I did but—it wasn’t that often. A-and not since you woke up, and I’m really sorry about it, it’s just—I’ve been having…a…moment.” Marvin clenched his fists as he tried to find the words. Sign language wouldn’t work here; Jack couldn’t understand it. So he was stuck with verbal speech. Not always his strong suit. “You know, when you have…a moment? When it’s hard to do anything because you…don’t…really…feel like anything?” Chase nodded encouragingly, and Marvin took a deep breath. “It’s not because I didn’t want to come see you. I really did, I-I’m really happy you’re awake again! It’s just…my fault. I put it off for so long, and then I got nervous about it, like, that it would be weird to suddenly show up and start talking like nothing had happened—I-I do that a lot, y’know, that’s why I don’t really talk to anyone besides you guys—and it’s not you, it’s me, and I’m sorry.” He finished with a rush and then stopped, waiting, his posture stiff and tense.
Jack was quiet for a moment. Then, he leaned closer, reaching out and putting a hand on top of Marvin’s own. “Mahfin…Mmmahrf…Marrrfvin.” For a moment, he looked frustrated at his inability to pronounce his friend’s name properly, but then he took a deep breath, and moved on. “Mahrfin. ‘S not…yoh fahlt. Thin’s happen. ‘S alright. ‘M happy t’see yuh—yyou. Yohr herre now. An’ tha’s what’s…i-im….important.” And he smiled.
Marvin’s face swelled with a mix of emotions. Relief, hesitancy, joy. It brought tears to his eyes. “You’re sure?”
“Yeh. O’courrrse.”
“I…good. That’s…good.” Marvin wiped his eyes. “Y’know…if you’re having trouble, you could just call me Muffin or something, for the time being.”
Jack laughed. “Shurr, Maffin.”
The moment was interrupted by a faint buzzing sound. Chase jumped a bit, feeling something vibrate in his pocket. “Oh, uh, sorry guys.” He took out his phone, face turning red with embarrassment as the other two watched him. “I didn’t think anyone would be calling me.” He glanced at the screen. “Huh. I don’t recognize the number.”
“It’s probably spam,” Marvin dismissed.
“Maybe. Or it could be important. Like, the kids are in school now, what if their teacher’s calling?” Chase hesitated. “I’ll just—just see if it is spam, really quick.” He tapped the Accept button and pressed the phone to his ear. “Hello? Who’s this?”
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He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t BREATHE. Something was squeezing his chest, his lungs—something was inside him, it was—no, no it wasn’t. This was panic. That had to be the explanation. He had to calm down, and—and do…something.
Schneep had woken up a few minutes ago. It took him a while to remember what happened before that. How someone had been in his room. No…not just someone. He knew—it was HIM, it was—there was no escape, there had never been any escape—
Okay. Calm down. Breathe. Focus on the facts. He was lying on the floor. In a strange room that he didn’t recognize. Near the wall. And he wasn’t alone. But he couldn’t focus on that fact now, it just made it hard to breathe again, thinking about being watched, being stared at, being—stop. Calm. Breathe.
Maybe if he looked around, it would help. But there wasn’t much to see in the room. The walls were dark gray, the floor was rough white carpet. There was a circular black rug in the middle. And a window with blinds. Besides those features, the only thing of note in the room was…a desk. And its chair, with someone sitting in it. But he didn’t want to look towards that. What about…the window? Was there anything outside?
He hesitated, and briefly glanced back towards the desk. It looked like the chair’s occupant was busy, attention fully focused on the computer monitors on the desk’s surface. But he knew he was still being watched. Perhaps…if he moved slowly, then it wouldn’t be too strange? It would be natural?
Deciding that was worth a shot, Schneep cautiously sat up. His head was still a bit dizzy, and heavy, too. He grimaced, then glanced out the window. The glass was a bit dirty, and looked unusually…thick, if that made sense. Outside, he could see a street corner, and houses. This room was in a house like that, then? And it was at an intersection, with a pair of street signs marking the roads that crossed here. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make out the street names this far away without his glasses. But one of them had some graffiti on it, a spray-painted square with a diamond inside it, and a black dot inside that. It might’ve been more elaborate than that, but again, he couldn’t quite make out the details.
“I see you.”
Schneep yelped, pressing against the wall as he turned to look towards the desk. Anti. He’d turned around in his desk chair and was staring at him now. Staring with those mismatched eyes that haunted his nightmares.
“Enjoying the view?” Anti nodded towards the window. “Sorry, not much to see. Nothing particularly helpful. Especially since you can’t read the street signs from this distance without your glasses.”
He knew what he was thinking?! Was he in his head again?! Schneep squeezed his eyes shut, shook his head, and opened them again. No, that wasn’t true. Anti was human, he’d never read his mind, humans couldn’t do that.
“What? Do you think you’re safe up here?” Anti tapped the side of his head and grinned. “Don’t be so sure. You’re so easy to—”
“Shut up, you are lying,” Schneep interrupted. “You—you cannot do that anymore. I know it’s a trick.”
“You don’t know anything,” Anti said, still grinning. “Because I’ve been watching you. I know you’ve heard me. And I know you’ve told others about me. Don’t you remember what I said about that? The more people know about me, the stronger I become.”
“That is more lies,” Schneep insisted, pressing his back to the wall.
“I’ve never lied to you. And I’m not about to start now. I’ve been watching you. I know you’ve seen my shadow in the corners, and my eyes in the ceilings.”
“How do you know about that?!” Schneep shrieked.
“Because I sent them, of course. To keep an eye on you, make sure you didn’t break any rules.” Anti sighed dramatically and shook his head. “I hoped it wouldn’t be needed, but I thought, better safe than sorry. And it turns out I was right.”
Schneep pressed his hands to his ears, trying to block out Anti’s words. They had to be lies. He knew that Anti wasn’t some supernatural creature, he was just a man. Anti had to be guessing about the things he saw. Though…how did he guess about the eyes in the ceilings? Schneep couldn’t remember telling him about them, and that had to be a fairly specific hallucination. Maybe he really…? No, there had to be another explanation.
Anti laughed, and Schneep flinched at the sound. His eyes darted around the room once more. There was a door, but it was on the other side of the room, and he was willing to bet it was locked. Same with the window. He could try to break the window, but there was nothing to break it with. Unless he wanted to try and grab one of the computer monitors and throw it through the glass, but he knew he’d be overpowered if he tried.
“That’s right, you’ve got no way out,” Anti said, leaning back. “You’re lucky I haven’t tied you to a chair or anything. The only reason I haven’t done that is because you know it’s hopeless, anyway. Unlike certain others…wearing red jackets.”
Schneep felt a chill pass over him. Jackie. Of course. Anti still had him captive. “I-it’s different, now,” Schneep protested weakly. “They know about you, a-and me, and that we are not the same. They will be trying to rescue me this time.”
“Probably,” Anti admitted. He grabbed something off the desk and stood up, approaching. Schneep’s eyes widened, and he pressed further into the wall, pulling his legs and arms close. “That is, they’ll be trying a search and rescue as long as they think I’m involved.” Anti stopped, standing over Schneep, and leaned down. “So here’s what’s going to happen.” He showed him the thing he’d grabbed from the desk: a phone. “You’re going to call the lovely Dr. Laurens and tell her you left on your own.”
“What…wh-why would I do that?” Schneep stammered.
“Because you got scared. Because you didn’t feel safe in that hospital. Because you told her you saw Anti in the hospital rec room, and you think that he’s real, and that he can come after you.” Anti smiled. “It’s built on truth, isn’t it? Because you told her you saw me, didn’t you?”
Schneep stared at him in disbelief. He had told Laurens about seeing Anti in the rec room. At the time, he thought it was just him seeing things, but…had it been real? The whole time? And how did Anti know he’d told Laurens about that?
"Because he hears your thoughts. He can twist them to control you."
No! No, that wasn’t real. But…the idea still lingered.
“What are you waiting for?” Anti held out the phone, staring at him. Staring, staring, staring. Always staring.
Schneep swallowed a sudden lump in his throat. “..okay. I will call her.”
Anti didn’t say anything as he took the phone, still watching him as he dialed the phone number. Schneep tried not to think about it too much as he held the phone to his ear and listened to the call connect.
The other end rang for a long time, and Schneep swiftly grew afraid that nobody would pick up. But just when he thought it would hang up, the ringing stopped. “Hello? Who’s this?”
“Um. Hello.” Schneep reminded himself to breathe. “It’s me, it is—well, you can probably tell by the voice.” The voice that was shaking quite a bit.
“What the f—Schneep?!” The voice on the other end shouted in disbelief. “Why are you calling me?! No, wait, HOW are you calling me? I thought you weren’t allowed to have a phone there.”
“No, I—there is—something has happened,” Schneep said carefully. “I-I am not at Silver Hills anymore.”
“Well then where the hell are you?!”
“I am…I am somewhere…else,” Schneep said slowly.
“Yeah, where?”
Anti narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Get to the point,” he hissed.
Schneep froze for a moment. He needed to speak freely. “It’s because of—of him,” he said carefully. “You know who I mean, yes?”
“You mean…Anti?” The other end went silent for a minute. “Schneep where are you? Can you tell me, give me a clue or something? I-I’ll call the police, but if you could tell me anything—”
Anti frowned. “Put it on speaker,” he said.
Schneep’s heart sank. Impossible. Anti would immediately know that he hadn’t called the right person. He had to do something drastic. “Er ist es, er hat mich mitgenommen,” he said, speaking quickly. “Ich weiß nicht wo ich bin.” Anti’s eyes widened, and he lunged forward. Schneep cried out, and rolled to the side, just avoiding him. “Ich weiß nicht wo ich bin! Ein Haus an einer Straßenecke—Ich kenne die Straßennamen nicht! Das Schild hat Graffiti, es ist ein Kreis in einem Diamanten in einem Quadrat—”
“You little—!” Anti grabbed Schneep’s wrist and twisted the phone out of his hand.
“Bitte komm—!” Schneep didn’t manage to get the rest of the sentence out before—
Smack!
He fell to the side, half of his face suddenly alight in pain. For a moment, he was too dazed to respond properly. Then Anti grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him upward. He instantly started struggling.
“You worthless little fucker,” Anti hissed, grabbing a handful of Schneep’s hair and pulling his head backwards. “Can’t believe you did that. Fuck. You deserved that. Your friend’s gonna have worse for that stunt you just pulled.”
“N-no!” Schneep gasped. “Leave him alone!”
“No, you know the rules. You know how this works.” Anti glared at him. “You’ve just gotten cocky. So you need a reminder.”
Schneep felt a tear trickle from his eye. He hoped that call was worth it.
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“Schneep?! Henrik?! Are you there?!” Chase shouted into the phone, but got no response. There’d been a rustling sound, like a struggle, then Schneep had shouted, and then there was—there was another sound, a sound he’d most often heard when his kids would fight each other, and he had to scold them. That sound was a lot more sinister in this context. Especially considering the call had apparently dropped after it. “Fuck!”
“What happened?!” Marvin asked, shaken by the half of the conversation he’d heard. “Was that really—?”
“H-hang on, I’m gonna call his doctor first,” Chase said. He hurried to dial the number for Dr. Laurens, misdialing at first because of his rush and entering it a second time.
The call was picked up surprisingly quickly. “Chase? Is that you?” Laurens’s voice came through loud and clear.
“Yeah, it’s me. Listen doc, is…is Schneep okay?” Chase didn’t know how else to ask.
“Is he—oh, Chase,” Laurens said softly. “I was just about to call you. We…we don’t know where he is.”
“You…don’t know where he is?” Chase repeated, feeling the bottom of his stomach dropping out. He heard Marvin gasp, and saw him squeeze Jack’s hand, who was now sitting up as straight as he could. “What do you mean?”
“He never showed up to dinner. When Oliver went to check on his room, he wasn’t there. We’ve been searching the building and the grounds, but he’s nowhere to be seen. I thought—since you’re his friend, a-and his emergency contact—wait a minute.” Laurens stopped, realizing something. “Why are you asking?”
“Because he just called me,” Chase explained. “From some number I didn’t recognize. He said that—he said that Anti took him.”
“Shit,” Laurens cursed. “Chase, I need you to hang up right now and call the police. We’ll keep searching the nearby area, just in case. I-I’ll call you if we find him.”
“Y-yeah. Okay. And I’ll call you again after I talk to the cops.”
“Great. Go do that.”
“I’m doing it. Talk to you later.” Chase hung up.
“So he just disappeared?!” Marvin whispered harshly. “Just—just like that night.” He glanced over at Jack.
“Wh’s happennin’?” Jack asked, his features drawn.
“You guys heard that call, right? Henrik called me, h-he was speaking…haltingly, I think, with a lot of pauses, I think that’s the word.” Chase squeezed his phone case. “Then he freaked out and started shouting in German—I bet because Anti can’t speak it.”
“What did he say?!” Marvin demanded.
“I don’t know all of it, it’s been a while since I—give me a second.” Chase opened up a translation app on his phone and quickly typed in a few words, trying his best to match the spelling of the things he thought Schneep had said. He had to fill in the gaps. “Okay. He said that Anti took him, and that he didn’t know where it was, but it was a house on a street corner. He couldn’t see the street names, but mentioned some sort of like…graffiti? On the sign? A circle in a diamond in a square.”
Jack’s head shot upward, and he cried out.
“What?! What is it?!” Marvin leaned forward, checking all the wires and monitors.
“Nn—noh that!” Jack clumsily pushed him back. “That sss…ssymmbel. Know it.”
“Wh—you recognize the symbol?!” Chase repeated in disbelief. “Square-diamond-circle?!”
Jack nodded. “H-he…fffakes. Th’ fakes, th’ one…prtendinn tuh be yuh two. I…rmemmber now.”
“Huh?” Marvin asked, utterly confused.
“Right, you don’t know,” Chase realized. “Jack, he—he’s said some stuff about fake versions of us visiting him. Anti, in disguise. I-I know, I ran into him pretending to be you one time, and I heard about an imposter me from Dr. Emerson another time. Apparently Anti talked to him, said some freaky stuff.” He gasped. “You mean—he told you about this symbol?”
“Symmbl. Symbel to…to haf others recogniss him.” Jack pressed his hands to his forehead and leaned forward. “Put outssside…places he…h-has? I don’…don’ rmemrrr.” He fell silent, squeezing his eyes shut. “On a sighhn…steet signnn…ffahk. Fahk!”
“I’m gonna call the police,” Chase said, already dialing 999. “I’m gonna tell them everything, a-and meanwhile, try to remember anything else.”
Jack nodded, eyes still shut. Marvin squeezed his shoulder, an anchor to the physical world. He could hear Chase’s voice relaying what happened over the phone, but the words were indistinct as he tried to concentrate on his memory. Everything was all mixed up and blurred. None of it made sense most of the time. He remembered hearing voices, but he wasn’t sure when it was Chase, when it was this Anti, or when it was just a dream. But he’d definitely heard that description of a symbol before. When…when had he…when…when……?
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……
…
“It’s a calling card. Or a warning, if you want to think of it that way…simplified version of my…”
…
The man had no eyes. Or maybe he was just missing one eye. A blank, dark spot in the middle of a white face. He looked like a friend, but that dark spot was wrong. It told him it was a lie.
“Most people don’t know what it means exactly, only that it’s trouble. The area…claimed.”
And the voice was wrong. It…it sounded a bit like his own, actually? Was this…him?
Was that why he couldn’t move? Why he couldn’t look away?
“…outside safe houses, where I store my…and other equipment. They’re also secondary bases. Just in case…never know in this line of work. I don’t want…caught. Living…prison…just be the worst. You have no control.”
The man was smiling. His teeth stretched…his skin was melting. He—he couldn’t understand. What was happening? Who…was this man…? Was he him? Who are you? Who am I? Are we the same? I can’t understand. Something…something is broken up here. My thoughts…they’re scattering. Like throwing paper in a bowl of water, watching it soak it up, then stirring violently. Everything came apart.
“I’m never going to let anyone control me. No. I am in control. Everyone else…my little puppets. I like watching the shows.”
The white ceiling and walls were burning his eyes. It was curving, like a bubble. They were in a bubble. He was floating. He couldn’t feel anything.
“…times I worry about you telling people. But then I—” Laugh. Laugh. Laugh. “I remember you’re a veggie. People rarely wake…after something so severe. So…doesn’t matter. Maybe you can hear me. Maybe you can’t. Doesn’t…”
Green line. Up and down. Up and down. Crossing the man’s face. Cutting him in half.
“Why am I even doing this?”
Green light. Everything is green.
“I don’t even know. It’s a waste of time, a waste of resources, and a risk. Maybe…need it? I’ve never talked so freely. Not even to Jamie. He…a kid, you know. Always will be.”
Light is gone. Everything is black.
“…it doesn’t really matter what I say. I can tell you about the marks outside the houses. Ha. Hell, I can even tell you where they are. Like, for example, on the corner of—”
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Jack’s eyes flew open. “Ah!”
“Wh—?!” Marvin jumped a bit. “Jack?”
“Th’ steet! Strreet! Is—is—” Now the problem was just getting his mouth to form the sounds properly. “Ay…airrr…loom.”
Marvin blinked. “Air loom?”
“Hhay. Hhhhair loom.”
“Oh, heirloom? I don’t know that street, uh…” Marvin turned to look at Chase. “Did you catch that?”
Chase nodded in response, still on the phone, then returned to his conversation with the emergency line. “Um—maybe try on one of the corners of Heirloom Drive? My friend thinks that might be it.” A brief pause. “Uh, I don’t know.” And he looked over at Jack, pulling the phone away a bit. “Hey bro, do you…remember the other street? It’s at an intersection, right?”
Jack closed his eyes again. But this time, the memory wouldn’t even come to him. “No.”
“That’s fine.” Chase returned to the phone. “My friend doesn’t know, but on the phone call he said—my other friend—said that there was some sort of graffiti on the sign, that was a uhh square around a diamond around a circle. That probably helps right?” He paused. “No, I don’t think he’d see them. He’s near-sighted, and I don’t think he has his glasses. That probably means that the graffiti description is pretty vague, but it’s an idea.” Another pause. “Yeah, that’s it. Oh, wait, uh…I think Detective Nix was involved in this case? Can you tell him?” And another. “Yeah, his name’s Henrik.” And one last, long pause. “Alright, thank you ma’am. I’ll wait.” And he hung up, letting out a long exhale.
“It—it’s going to be fine, right?” Marvin asked anxiously. “They’ll find him?”
“It might take a while, but I think so,” Chase replied. “God…Hey, uh, Jack? You’re sure about this?”
Jack thought about it, then nodded slowly, head bobbing. That memory was a bit weird, but Dr. Emerson told him it was common to have dream-like memories, with everything that had happened to him. He was confident that the conversation was real. He couldn’t forget the times Anti came to visit, just because of how deeply unnerving his words always were.
“Alright. Well, they’re going to call me to update me on what happens,” Chase said. “Uh…not sure how long this’ll take. Visiting hours might end before they sort everything out.”
“Mm.” Jack shrugged. He picked up the communication board again—he’d just done a lot of talking, and needed a moment—and pointed to the 'I’m okay' box.
“You sure?”
'Yes' box.
“Well we’re not leaving until they kick us out,” Marvin asserted, folding his arms. “If they call us back, you need to hear it. You just helped out a fuckton.”
Jack smiled, a bit lopsidedly. 'Thank you' box.
Chase laughed, but it quickly faded. He looked down at the phone in his hand, already anticipating the call. “I guess…we just wait now.”
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There were footsteps passing by outside the room. At first, Jameson had tensed, waiting for the door to open and Anti to walk inside. But that didn’t happen. They just kept passing back and forth. 'You hear those, right?' JJ asked.
Jackie didn’t respond, so JJ looked back over at him. He was lying on the bottom bed of the bunk and staring up, eyes glazed. Something he’d been doing quite a lot, JJ noticed. When he asked about it, Jackie always said he was daydreaming, which would be fine normally, but JJ was pretty sure that he was doing it too much. Well, he couldn’t blame him. But still, it would be nice if Jackie would look at him when he was signing.
Jameson walked over and, after a moment’s hesitation, shook Jackie’s shoulder. He blinked, made an odd gesture like he was asking someone to wait, then looked at JJ. “What?”
'Have you been hearing the footsteps outside?' JJ asked.
“Huh? Oh, uh, sorry. No. I wasn’t really paying attention,” Jackie admitted. “What do they sound like?”
'Like someone’s running up and down a hallway outside,' JJ described.
“Really? Well…I mean, I can’t really think of anyone but Anti who’d be doing that.” Jackie’s face scrunched up in thought. “Maybe he’s…doing something? I dunno. Running, though…it must be important.”
Jameson frowned. That was a good point, why would Anti be running about? 'I’m going to try to look outside,' he said, walking over to the door.
“Look outside?” Jackie sat up, turning so he was on the edge of the bed. “You mean, through the gap?”
JJ nodded. He got down on his hands and knees and pressed his head to the floor, peering through the gap under the door. Nothing much to see. He got to his knees and was about to stand up…when he heard the footsteps again. Wanting to see what happened as they passed by the door, he quickly peered through the gap between the door and the doorframe. The steps were approaching—
Then the door slammed open, directly into Jameson’s face. He cried out as he fell, clasping his hands to his face.
“Oh my god, Jamie?! I’m so sorry!” Anti covered his mouth, staring down at him in shock. “It was an accident, I didn’t expect you to—are you okay?!”
Jameson didn’t answer. His face was in pain, and his nose in particular was throbbing. He pulled one hand away and saw it covered in blood, felt it trickling from his nostrils and soaking into his mustache.
“Shit. Fuck! I-it’ll be fine, I can—i-is it broken?” Anti bent over, grabbing Jameson’s head and trying to inspect the damage. But Jameson pulled away, waving at him to get back. “Hey, I just—okay, fine. This isn’t the time. We can look at it later.” Anti took his phone out of his pocket and checked the clock. “We need to go.”
Go? Did he say go? As in, they were leaving? Jameson stood up, keeping one hand on his face, trying and failing to stop the bleeding from getting everywhere. Why did they have to leave? More importantly, why was Anti trying to move the two of them? Unless…something happened that meant he had to move them. Like…the police coming. At that thought, Jameson started backing away.
“Jamie, this isn’t a joke, we need to leave NOW.” Anti insisted.
Jameson shook his head. He glanced over his shoulder at Jackie. Judging by the wide-eyed expression on his face, he’d come to the same conclusion as him. It was strange to see the glimmer of hope in his eyes. And that thought made Jameson’s heart hurt.
“Are you going to—?! Fuck, I don’t have time for this.” Anti rubbed his eyes, then adjusted the strap of the bag hanging off his shoulder. He stared at Jameson for a moment. Then followed his line of sight over to Jackie. For a moment, he hesitated, thinking about something. And then he made a decision. “Okay, fine.” Anti pushed past Jameson, reaching into his bag as he did so. He grabbed Jackie, yanking him upwards to a standing position, and pressed a knife to his neck.
Jameson gasped. “A-an!”
“I’m going to kill him,” Anti said calmly. “I’ve been thinking about it, and I can’t handle three of you after all. And he’s the most useless.”
“A…aan.” Jameson shook his head slowly. He didn’t dare to take a step forward. Jackie had looked terrified when Anti grabbed him, but the moment he said he was going to kill him, all emotion seemed to drain out of him. Now he was slumped, eyes blank, not there at all. Please, Jameson simply signed.
Anti looked him in the eyes. “The only way you can convince me not to is if you come with me right now.”
Oh.
So…that was the plan.
Jameson wasn’t sure why he wasn’t more shocked. No…no, actually, he knew why. But somehow, it surprised him to feel this lack of…well, surprise.
But in any case, he couldn’t let Jackie die. 'Alright,' he signed slowly. 'I’ll go with you.'
“Good. Follow me.”
Anti walked out of the room, right through the door, and Jameson followed behind him, quietly. He tried to catch Jackie’s eye, but Jackie wasn’t paying attention to anything at all. He just let Anti pull him along with the blade at his throat.
They went down a hallway and arrived in another, which they then walked down to arrive at a door. Anti pushed it open with his shoulder, and then they were in a small backyard, hardly more than a strip of grass. Jameson glanced at the neighboring houses, but they looked empty. But…maybe someone could see them? Maybe someone would call the police, if they hadn’t already been called.
There was a car parked in the gap between their house and one of the neighbors. It didn’t have anything distinct about it, a simple, gray, four-door car. But the trunk was a bit open. Jameson caught a glimpse of some sort of suitcase—maybe multiple suitcases—before Anti kicked the lid closed. “Stupid boot,” he muttered. “Jameson, get in the passenger side. Leave the door open.”
Well, he didn’t have much of a choice, did he? Jameson walked around to the passenger side and got in, sitting stiffly on the edge of the seat. He wiped his face, clearing up blood from his nosebleed.
“Good.” Anti nodded once. He then shifted his knife to his other hand, still keeping it pointed at Jackie, and used his other to rummage around in his bag until he pulled out a small bottle. He popped the lid open. “Hold out your hand.” When Jameson did, Anti shook a few small pills out of the bottle and into his palm. “Swallow three of those.”
That was the part that got Jameson to finally say something. Or, try to, at least. “A-annn? Yuh…c-c-cannn’…beee sss—”
“Don’t do this, Jamie,” Anti said through gritted teeth. “I know what you’re trying to do. Just eat them, okay?” He put the bottle back in his bag and switched the knife between hands again. He pressed it firmly into Jackie’s neck, causing a drop of blood to trickle down from where the blade met skin.
Jameson nodded, and hurriedly threw the pills in his mouth. Anti watched him closely, making sure they were eventually swallowed. “Good,” he said again. Then he closed the car door. Immediately, Jameson heard the clunk of the lock. He was expecting that…but he wasn’t expecting Anti to walk back towards the back door they’d come from, taking Jackie with him.
“Hhh—!” Jameson pressed his face and hands to the window. “Aaaan! N-nuh!” He banged a fist against the glass. “Nnnuh! Nn—n-n-no!” He screamed. But Anti didn’t even look towards him as he disappeared back into the house with Jackie.
He tried pulling at the door, but of course, found it useless. And looking around the inside showed there wasn’t a way to open the car from the inside. That was probably a safety hazard, but Jameson was willing to bet that Anti had the car modified. He spun around in his seat, looking for anything that would be of help in the back. But there was nothing. Except for…a man. Asleep, sitting in the back seat. Pale skin and brown hair, with a yellow-purple bruise forming on his cheek. Jameson was confused for a moment, until he noticed the plastic medical bracelet around the man’s wrist and remembered. That was Henrik, wasn’t it? Schneep? He hadn’t recognized him. Of course, they’d only met once, and Schneep had spent most of it freaking out, thinking that Jameson was Anti. He looked unharmed, but he was clearly unconscious, and therefore couldn’t help them get out of the car.
Frustrated, Jameson started kicking at the door, leaning back to build up as much force as possible. He tried hitting the window. But it felt as solid as the actual door. This went on for a few moments, until he saw the back door opening again. And Anti came back outside. Alone.
That made him stop, fear shooting through his heart.
Soon, Anti sat down in the driver’s seat. “Alright, finally,” he said under his breath, glancing up at the dark, early-night sky. “We’ve wasted enough time—”
Smack!
Anti was too surprised to even cry out as Jameson’s fist connected with enough force to whip his head to the side. “Y—you just—” He pressed his hand to his cheek and looked at Jameson in disbelief. “Jamie, you hit me.”
'Don’t FUCKING call me that!' Jameson threw his hands in Anti’s face, almost hitting him again. 'Not after all that! You don’t deserve it! You’re the most horrible person I know!'
Anti glanced back towards the house. “He’s not dead.”
'Well I don’t trust a word you say!'
“Just…” Anti sighed, and rubbed his cheek. “Just go to sleep and be quiet, Jameson.”
'Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?' Jameson seethed. 'You’d like to have a perfect, quiet, naive kid brother that you can protect and therefore feel good about yourself for once. Well he doesn’t exist. Not one of those words describes me.' Jameson turned away. 'Don’t ever call me your brother again. You make me sick.'
Anti didn’t say anything in response, and Jameson refused to even look at him. The car started, then pulled out of the driveway and onto the street.
As the house on the corner faded into the distance, Jameson’s anger lessened, overtaken by the fear and all-consuming worry he’d felt before. He could only hope that Anti wasn’t lying about Jackie. And he didn’t like that. He didn’t like relying on this…person for anything. But, unfortunately, he was at his mercy for the time being.
He had to find a way out. Not now, though. He could already feel the sleeping pills starting to take effect. But as Jameson closed his eyes, he swore that he wouldn’t let Anti be in control of anyone ever again.