Part Seven of the Inverted AU
A JSE Fanfic
[This is part of a fic series I wrote from December 2018 to August 2021. A series of flashbacks Jack had one day, revealing how he met the five others who would eventually become his housemates, as well as how he met his otherworldly friend.]
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{Jack?} As always, Jack was startled by the voice that wasn’t really a voice. But when he poked his head out of the dining room where he was sitting alone, he didn’t see Jameson in the living room. Just as he was starting to get confused, the answer for the question he never asked came. {I’m in the basement. Can you come down here for a moment? I need another set of hands and you’re the only one home.} “Oh, yeah sure,” Jack said out loud. Of course there was no answer, Jameson told him he couldn’t read minds, only project.

He didn’t like the basement. Every time he stared down the side hall to the stairs at the end he got a crawly, wary feeling across his skin. The place creeped him out, which was why he never went down there. But this past week, he’d been sort of getting used to it. The feeling had been fading. So when he walked down the stairs, he only felt a little uneasy.

At the bottom of the stairs was a long hall with a couple doors to either side, and one at the end. The first one on the left was ajar, so Jack leaned over and peeked inside. He stopped in the doorway and gaped at an entire library, with a sitting area of armchairs, two desks, and a whole lotta bookshelves. Jameson was standing on one of those rolling ladders attached to a bookshelf.

“Jesus fuck,” Jack muttered.

Jameson looked over with a frown. {Language, master McLoughlin.}

“Uh, sorry. But why didn’t anyone tell me this was down here? It’s a pretty big secret to hide!”

{Marvin told you about it, remember? What did you think he did down here all day?}

“He did?” Jack cursed his poor memory. “Shi—shoot, man, I’m sorry. And I guess I always sorta assumed he was doing his magic stuff down here, but I didn’t think there was, you know, an entire library.”

{Technically, it wasn’t so much a library as a room full of books before I joined your cohort. Marvin has some style and reasonable standards, but no organization.}

“I see, I see,” Jack nodded. “So, uh, what was it you needed me for?”

{Ah yes. Come on in, don’t be shy.} Jameson made a vague sort of gesture to the area around him, indicating Jack should walk over to him, which he did. {I’m planning on taking quite a few of these books upstairs, and I need your help carrying them.}

“Oh. Okay.” Jack was puzzled as to why Jameson was taking the books upstairs, but it wasn’t his business to ask…was it? “Uh…what for? Sorry.”

Jameson gave Jack an odd look, almost like worry. {A friend is coming over to borrow some, but she’s not quite sure which ones she wants. So she gave me a list of items to look for. This library is a rather private place, and Marvin doesn’t want her down here.} Jack opened his mouth to ask another question. {You understand, right? You understand the reasoning. That’s all you need, right?}

Jack blinked spirals out of his vision. “Yeah, I understand. What did you want me to carry?”

{Here, take these.} Jameson pulled a few books off the shelves and piled them into Jack’s waiting arms. {And you might as well take this, too. Chain keeps getting caught. Keep a careful eye on it.} He placed his silver pocket watch on top of the books.

“Keep an eye on it? You mean WATCH it? Okay.” Jack laughed at his own joke and looked down at the watch. It was very well-made, and it glinted beautifully in the light from the lamps. It was emitting a ticking sound, but the sound wasn’t as long as a second. Nor did the ticks match the movement of the second hand. It just kept ticking steadily…tick…tick…tick…tick…

He didn’t register the thumps when his arms went limp and the books crashed to the floor. He didn’t notice when Jameson grabbed the watch chain just in time to keep it from falling too. He just kept staring…listening…the watch was swaying…swaying…silver on a sea of purple…he couldn’t look away…why would he want to?…

{Do you remember how we met, Jack?}
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“Hey, Jack.”

Jack looked up from his cup of coffee. “Oh, hey Marv,” he yawned. “How’re’ya?”

“Pretty good,” Marvin said from where he was leaning in the dining room doorway. “Hey, I want you to meet someone.”

“Really? Who—” Jack blinked. The newcomer looked exactly like him (and all the rest of them, honestly) but with a mustache and a snazzy outfit. He waved at Jack, beaming.

“This is Jameson,” Marvin explained. “James, this is Jack. Jameson is a friend of mine from work, and since he recently lost his house I offered to let him stay with us. We needed more rent help, anyway.”

{It’s so good to meet you! Marvin’s told me all about you.}

“What the fuck?!” Jack nearly knocked over his coffee mug in shock.

“Oh, ah, Jameson’s mute,” Marvin winced, awkward. “But it’s okay, ‘cause he taught himself telepathy. So…you should get used to that.”

“Oh. Okay. I get it. Yeah.” Jack laughed nervously. “Your work is magic, so there’s some-some magic involved here. Okay.”

“I’m goin’ downstairs to the library now.” Marvin turned around. “I’ll let you two get to know each other.”
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{We had a nice, pleasant chat. Remember that? Yes, I see you nodding. The details escape you, but that’s okay. It’s to be expected with your memory problems. We warmed up to each other immediately. That’s all that matters. What about Marvin? How did you meet him?}
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“You have ANOTHER new roommate?” Jack raised his eyebrow. “Aren’t two enough?”

“Yes, well, unfortunately the house is undergoing…ah, I do not remember the word.” Schneep set his drink down with one hand and snapped the fingers on the other. “The—where your living space is getting fixed up. Not repairs, but there is another R to start…”

Jack’s brows furrowed. “Renovations?”

“That’s the one!” Schneep pointed at him triumphantly. “Also, Jackie has lost his job, and there is less money. We will need more rent anyway.”

“And…you want me to meet this new roommate. So we’re going out for drinks. Not, like, alcohol or anything. Like soda.” Jack shook his cup, rattling the ice. “And at night.”

Schneep made an unusual huffing sound. “It was not my idea. But I do not mind so much, I think. This place is empty at night, and that is…a good thing in this case.”

Jack’s question died on his tongue when the door to the restaurant opened and a strange man walked in. He was wearing a black cape, and a black mask shaped like a cat with the card suits on its forehead. His blue-green eyes locked on the table where Jack and Schneep were sitting, and he grabbed a chair from another table, dragging it over to them. He sat down, arms folded on the table, staring at. “You must be Jack,” he said coolly. “I’m Marvin.”

“O-oh. Hi, it’s nice to meet you.” Something about this guy was putting Jack on edge. It was like an electric sort of feeling, something similar to what he felt around {/ / / /}. But more…hostile. The edges of scars peeking out from under the mask did not help this impression at all.

“Yeah, same. Did you guys already order?”

“Yes, yes we did. It is serve-yourself here.” Schneep pointed over to the machines. “After you buy, of course.”

“Fuck. Fine, I guess I’ll be right back.” Marvin grumbled, standing up. With an over-dramatic swish of the cape, he stalked away.

Jack stared after him, then slowly turned to Schneep. “What’s the deal with him?”

Schneep took a sip of his drink through the straw. “You mean the mask and cape? He is a magician of some sort, and he likes the attention, I think. I have not seen him take those off yet.”

“…ah.” Jack turned his attention to the counter where Marvin was ordering. Or, uh, actually it looked like he was snapping at the serving girl, who looked kind of scared. After a while there was an exchange of money, then Marvin walked back over to the table, landing in the chair once more. “You forgot your drink,” Jack said tentatively.

Marvin glared at him, then snapped his fingers. A cup appeared in front of him in a puff of lavender smoke. “That drink, you mean?”

Jack gaped. He’d seen {/ / / /} summon objects before, but that was different. {/ /} wasn’t {/ / / / /}, and Marvin clearly was. “S-so…Henrik said you were a magician, but I was picturing, like, card tricks.”

“Tried those. Sucked at them. But they helped me realize my true potential, so I’m glad I took them up.”

A few moments of silence passed. Jack kept watching Marvin, who was still making him a bit…mildly freaked out. “And, uh, how did you meet the other guys?” he finally asked.

Marvin snorted. “Went to a party. That gun-toting idiot was causing a scene there. Caught my attention. That’s the gist of it.”

Jack stared at him. “What gun-toting idiot?”
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{That didn’t happen. No, no, listen to me, your memory is fading again, friend. There was nothing said about a gun, he just mentioned Chase. There was no awkward conversation afterward. Marvin seemed angry and antisocial, I’ll give you that. But he didn’t scare the serving girl, you were just projecting your own uneasiness. See, let’s go over it again…yes, you know I’m right. Now, let’s talk about the doctor. Do you recall your first encounter?}
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“I hope you don’t mind that I invited someone else over,” Jackie said.

Jack looked up from where he was busy setting up the Xbox. {/ / / /} was also helping; the console had a {/ / / / / /} recently and needed to be fixed. But Jackie, of course, didn’t know about {/ / / /}. “The way you say that makes me think it’s not Chase,” Jack replied.

“Uh…no…” Jackie smiled nervously. “But I think you’ll like him. His name’s Henrik, he’s the one who helped me out after I got injured on the job.”

“Oh yeah. That, uh, clinic doctor, right? Still think you should’ve gone to the hospital.”

“They don’t offer health insurance, I couldn’t afford a visit there.”

“That’s ridiculous. What are we, in America?”

Before Jackie could laugh or sigh in disappointment, there was a knock at the apartment door. Jackie sprang to action, jumping off the couch. “I got it,” he said, crossing the room and pulling open the door.

“Hello!” A cheerful man in a blue sweater and glasses entered the room. “You must be the Jack that Jackie has told me about? You are very nice to meet!”

Jack stared. This was the fourth person he’d ever met who looked weirdly like him, though he wasn’t sure {/ / / /} counted, so technically he was the third. Then he realized he was letting the pause stretch uncomfortable long, so he smiled warmly. “Yeah, man, it’s nice to meet you too.” He took the hand Henrik was offering and shook it. “You’re Henrik, right?”

“Indeed, I am the doctor Henrik von Schneeplestein, though if you wish you can call me Schneep, some of my friends do.” Schneep was smiling pretty wide, clearly excited. He also smelled of a strong cologne…though Jack could’ve sworn there was an undercurrent of something fouler.

“Well, then that’s what I’ll do. A friend of Jackie’s is a friend of mine.” Jack let go of Schneep’s hand—or more like he extracted it from his grip—and gestured toward the Xbox. “We were just setting up. You hungry or anything? I can get snacks.”

“No, no, I am fine.” Schneep seemed too full of energy to stand still, constantly bouncing on his feet and tugging on the edge of his sleeves. “Unless you have any coffee, then I would enjoy some.”

Having just noted the excitable energy the doctor was giving off, Jack laughed a little. “You, uh, you sure that’s a good idea? You seem kind of hyper.”

“Nonsense, I am perfectly okay!”

Jackie cut in. “Hey Jack, I advise you to not give him coffee in this mood. Unless you want him to break your controller by pushing the buttons too hard.”

“That was one time I broke your remote and it was one button only!”

“Hmmm, yeah, I’ll not take a chance. Anyway, lemme finish this up real quick.” Jack turned his attention back to the Xbox. The ring was blinking rapidly, probably a sign of {/ / / /} being annoyed. He swatted at the box to remind {/ / /} that they needed to fix it and not worry about the new guy. While he worked, Jack decided to make conversation. “So, you’re a doctor, huh?”

“That is correct! I am the best doctor, the best in the business!”

“Nice confidence. Why’d you choose that career? Doesn’t it take, like, a shit ton of work?”

“Oh, yes it did. But I think it was worth it.” Schneep finally settled down on the couch, though his legs continued to bounce restlessly. “I am very curious man, I always have been, I know this. And so I thought, what is there to learn more about than ourselves? Nothing, nothing! There are so many things that we cannot cure yet, so many we can treat but not eliminate! But there is nothing we cannot do if we are willing to take the needed steps and I think that is great value of humanity. I am perhaps a bit more willing than some of my colleagues back home were, ha! I will show them here. I think being the world’s best doctor is also something I just enjoy to do, you understand? Not only to know we are helping people, but also the process of the doing itself.”

“If you say so, man. Personally, I don’t think I could do all the surgeries and stuff like that.” Jack powered on the console. “Hey, I think I fixed it.”

Schneep tilted his head curiously. “I think the surgeries are my favorite part, you see—”

“Great, now that it’s fixed we can finally get started.” Jackie seemed to be in a hurry to interrupt. “Jack, toss me that controller.”
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{Your memory is quite good on this occasion. But I think you’re misremembering the smell of the doctor’s cologne. There was nothing foul there at all. And Jackie was not in a hurry to interrupt, merely eager. Speaking of him, I’m sure you can tell me about your first meeting.}
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“Chase, I swear to god, if you keep doing this you’re going to die before you turn thirty.” Jack’s patience was starting to fray. “And what about Stacy and the kids? What do they think of this?”

“Th’ kids don’ think anything, they’re one ‘n’ three.” Chase’s eyes were a bit fogged over. He was leaning heavily on Jack as they sat on a bench in the city park. “An’ Stacy’sss fine, it’s fine. She knows I l’ve her.”

“Right, well,” Jack said skeptically. “Be that as it may, I don’t think she’ll be happy to have you show up drunk on her doorstep. And I’m sure as hell not taking you to my place.”

“Wh’not?”

Because {/ / / /} would throw another hissy fit. “Because it’s fucking far, man. I’m not paying for an hour in a cab with your drunk ass when you probably have friends in the city. Also I have an exam tomorrow.”

“Jus’ drop ou’, ‘s easier.” Chase burrowed his face in Jack’s jacket. “I turned ou’ fine.”

“Hmm, that’s debatable.” Early twenties, already married with two kids and an alcohol problem. Jack had offered to sign Chase up for multiple help programs, but he always refused. Maybe he should do it anyway. “Anyway, you have friends in the city, right?”

Chase seemed to think for a minute, then pulled out his phone and slapped it in Jack’s hand. “Call the one lab’led Discoun’ Spider-Man,” he mumbled.

Jack had to snirk a little bit at the name. He dialed the number from the contacts, and the other side picked up on the first ring. “Hi, we’ve never met, but my friend Chase told me to call you…”

Ten minutes later, a young man in a red hoodie pulled up in an old car, slamming the door shut when he got out. He spotted the two on the bench easily, marching straight over. When he got there, Jack and him just stared at each other for a while. Then the other guy broke the silence by saying, “Were the three of us clones this whole time and never knew?”

Jack laughed. “Nah, I don’t think so. I’m Jack, what about you?”

The other man gasped. “My name’s Jackie.”

“Whoa, wait really? Are you me?”

“Yes, I’m you from a parallel universe.”

“Hi Jackie!” Chase piped up. “I’m…ffffffine.”

Jackie looked him over. “No, you’re not. C’mon dude, I’m gonna get you to a bed as soon as possible.” Jack stood up and passed Chase over to Jackie, who draped his arm over his shoulder. “Hey, doppelganger, want to come with? I can give you a ride anywhere in the city.”

“Too bad I live outside it then,” Jack remarked wryly. “But I want to make sure Chase is alright, so I’ll just ride with you for a while if you don’t mind.”

The car ride passed quickly, with the two ‘Jacks’ in front and Chase in the back. “So, how does Chase know you?” Jack asked. “He’s never mentioned you before this, and I don’t remember seeing you on campus.”

“Yeah, I graduated early,” Jackie explained. “I’m tryin’ to become a cop as soon as possible, so I pushed myself pretty hard. Kinda…fucking sucked.”

“Yikes.” Jack winced.

“Yeah, don’t take more than like five classes per semester. Maybe six if they’re small. Anyway, I may have ran into Chase…while training.”

“Uh…did he get arrested and never tell me?”

“No, but he got pretty damn close. I covered for him because he just…seems to be making mistakes, he’s not bad. And he gave me my phone number, and we started talking, and now apparently he has me saved in his contacts under ‘Discount Spider-Man.’”

Jack chuckled. “I think I’m under ‘Mr. Septic Guy,’ so you’re lucky.”

Jackie gave him a weird look. “There has got to be a story there.”

“Maybe I’ll tell it to you someday.”
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{Jackie’s always been friendly, hasn’t he? So determined to rid the city of crime and evil. You’ve gotten these details pretty much accurate. But we still have some way to go. When did you first meet Chase?}
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“So, you’re my new roomie, huh? Well, come in, no use standing in the hall…way…” the other guy trailed off the moment he looked away from the poster he was holding and up at Jack.

Jack couldn’t say anything either. The resemblance was uncanny. “…Hi,” he said, sticking out his hand. “I’m Jack.”

His new roommate took his hand and shook it. “Chase. Why don’t you…uh…y’know.” He stood to the side of the door so Jack could walk past. “I’m still decorating my side of the room.”

“Hmm. It’s a bit smaller than what I’m used to,” Jack said, scanning the dorm room. “But I only have to share it with one other person, so that’s a plus.”

“Siblings?”

“Yeah. You?”

“Nah, dude.” Chase took a length of tape and stuck the poster he was holding up on the wall. “You from close by? Your accent sounds local.”

“Yeah, I live just an hour away, but I wanted to try living somewhere else, at least for my first year. You American?” Jack sat on the edge of the bed. The one on the half of the room Chase hadn’t already claimed.

“My dad is. Mom, not so much. Spent a lot of time in my childhood flipping back and forth between countries.” Chase sat cross-legged on his own. “So. Now here’s the important question. What’re you here for?”

“What?”

“Like, college. What’re you here for?”

“Um…” Jack wasn’t sure he understood the question. “Because I have to have a degree to get a job?”

“Valid point, fair,” Chase shrugged. “But, is there anything else?”

Jack thought about it. “I guess I want to make friends.”

“Dude, same! That and, maybe, meet some girls. But friends are priorities. I’ve left basically everyone behind at this point. Starting a new posse. But you’re from around here, I bet you still can keep in touch with yours.”

The lights overhead flickered. Jack looked up at them. “I’ve only ever really had one friend. But yeah, we keep in contact.”
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{I’m so sorry, but that last part is very wrong. You got it all wrong. Jack, trust me on this, I know things about memories that you don’t. And I’m your friend, aren’t I? I can see you’re being difficult. So, in order for us to fix this, I need to see the beginning. Show me how you met him.}
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He couldn’t remember how old he was. Thirteen or fourteen, maybe? All his life, his family lived in the same cabin in the woods, the one his parents would later give to him. There was a rule about living there. You weren’t supposed to go into the woods after dark. Naturally, just starting to go through his rebellious phase, this was a rule he broke.

He kicked a rock into the nearest tree trunk. He had to be honest, this was boring. Aside from the secret thrill of knowing he was getting away with something, there wasn’t much to do. He’d already climbed all the climbable trees in the area. Maybe there were more things further in. So he set off, the evening light growing dimmer through the trees.

He saw something out of the corner of his eye. Something moved. He froze for a moment, then looked toward it. He saw a shadow retreat across the ground. For a moment, in the dark with just a flashlight and no weapon, he was scared. Maybe there was a good reason he wasn’t supposed to go into the woods. Maybe there were big, hungry animals there. Like wolves. Or bears.

Well, he wouldn’t know unless he saw them. So, like an idiot, he set off in the direction the shadow had vanished. But then something moved to his left. Then behind him. Then his right. Something was circling him. He twirled around, trying to capture it in the yellow cone of his flashlight beam. Until he turned around, and there was a thing there.

He remembered screaming and trying to step backwards, ending up tripping over a branch and falling flat on his back. He hadn’t caught a good look at it between the moment it was in the light and the moment his wild flailing sent the flashlight flying. It looked vaguely human, but…almost made out of shadow. Shadow and a bit of green. It hadn’t looked entirely there. Like how if you were leaning on the edge of a riverbank with your legs in the river, you weren’t quite in the water, but you weren’t quite on the land. The visual version of being only half real.

Jack had scrambled back, feeling with his hands desperately for the flashlight, until finally his fingers brushed it. He turned it back on in a hurry, expecting to see either a nightmare or nothing, and was surprised to see…a someone. Offering a hand.

“A͢r͏e ͏you ͝hu͝rt̷?” A broken, half-there voice.

The someone looked…like him. Brown haired, blue eyed, naturally pale. It was even wearing darker versions of his clothes. An eye-patch hid its right eye from view.

Jack stared up at it. “N-no.”

“Yo͠u can gr͡ab͝ ͟t̸ḩe h͏and,̸ ̢it̛ w͏o͡n’t ̡ḩurt ͠yoų if̷ ̷I di̕d t̴his͞ ̢şolįd t̡hi̕ng͢ righ͟t̶. ͢It͏'s͡ ̸been͞ ̨a̢ whil̸e.̨”

Jack hesitated for a moment later, then grabbed the hand and let the someone pull him to his feet.

“You fell. Di̷d ͝I s͞care y͢ou?” The tone of voice was bland, expressionless. The face was mildly curious.

“I mean, if that shadow thing was you, then yeah, you scared the shit outta me dude!”

“I ̛di̕dņ’t m̴ean̨ to͟.”

There was a silence. Then Jack said, “Cool, apology accepted. Why do you look like me?”

The someone shrugged. “You͏’re ̷t̡he̶ first o͞ne t͞o̶ ̡f͢in̡d m̨e i̕n ̸a̴ lo͡n̨g t̨i͢me.͠ ̴I need͟ed t͢o.”

Jack scanned the someone up and down. It was a perfect copy. “What…are you? Are you a shapeshifter? Are there more of you in the woods?”

“ No͝, I'͠m͏ ̧n̸o͏t ͡a s̛hapesh͝if̨ter,” the someone said. “A̷nd̸.̴..͠there’s ͟n̕o͡ ̧o̵ne ̵els͏e her͞e. C̵e̡rt͝ainly̴ no on̛e̶ lik͠e͠ ̕me͏.”

Jack felt his heart sink at that. This someone had been out here, all alone, for who knows how long. He must be incredibly lonely. “I’m…sorry about that,” Jack said. “You don’t…have to stay in the woods if you don’t have to. I mean, my family’s back at the cabin and they could see you easily, but you can come.”

The someone blinked for the first time, mouth opening a little. “Su͡re̶,” he said, surprise entering his voice.

“I’m Jack. What’s your name?”

“I’m {/ / / / / / / / / / / / /}.”
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{This is where you’re wrong, Jack. You know this is false. We’ve told you the truth many times. You remember the truth, don’t you? This creature is a monster. He tried to kill you, and now he’s trying to turn you by planting false memories. He doesn’t need a reason. He’s chaos. Do I need to tell you everything he’s done once again? I do? Then calm down, Jack, and listen. Listen. Listen.}
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Jack woke up on the sofa in the living room. God, he’d promised he’d only lay down for one minute, and then he completely fell asleep. That sucked. He sat up and stretched.

A bonking sound came from the corner of the living room. Jack looked over to see Sam ramming into the glass of the tank, iris wide and full of concern. He stood up and walked over to them. “Hey, bud. What’s wrong?”

Sam wanted to know if Jack was okay.

“Course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Sam wondered if Jack was certain.

“Yeah. I just fell asleep for a moment. Everything is fine.”

Sam wasn’t so sure. Sam thinks Jack needs help.

“Help with what?”

Sam didn’t say anything for a while. Then they pushed it away. Never mind. Jack was right, he’s fine.

“Atta-eye! You want to get out for a while?”

Sam did not.

“Alright, if you’re sure. I’m gonna go back upstairs now. If I fell asleep, maybe it’s time for bed.

After Jack had gone upstairs, Sam sank to the bottom of the tank and curled up. They knew. And they wanted to help him, He was their family. But at the same time, things were getting dangerous here. The doctor and the magician were giving them increasingly weird looks. They decided they’d give it another week. If they couldn’t reach Jack by then…they’d need to call for help.

Part Eighteen of the PW Timeline
A JSE Fanfic
[This is part of a complete series I wrote from July 2019 to July of 2022. Chase does some searching, trying to find out more about Anti. Meanwhile, Schneep thinks he sees something, but is it just his imagination?]
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Chase opened the curtains on the bedroom, letting in a wash of sunlight. The bright light was quickly absorbed by the dark blue paint on the walls, but still lit up the desk and swivel chair, dresser and closet, shelves with books and knickknacks, and the bed with the nightstand next to it. Marvin, lying in bed, pulled the blanket up over his head and groaned.

“Sit up and absorb the Vitamin D, bro,” Chase said, sitting down in the swivel chair. Marvin’s cat Ragamuffin was lying on the desk nearby. On top of Marvin’s laptop, to be exact. He peeked open his eyes when Chase sat down, then dismissed him and closed them again.

“No,” Marvin said stubbornly. “I’ll eat a lemon or something instead.”

“Well, first of all, that would be really sour so, uh, maybe not,” Chase pointed out. “And second of all, that’s Vitamin C.”

Marvin groaned again, this time clearly putting on an act. He pushed away the blankets and sat up, running fingers through his messy hair in an effort to semi-comb it. “I look like shit,” he muttered.

“Didn’t you have a hairbrush in here somewhere?” Chase asked, looking around. “Oh, there.” He stood up and walked over to the dresser to grab the brush, which he then handed to Marvin.

“Thanks,” Marvin said, accepting the brush and running it through his hair. He managed to untangle some of the worst of it when he stopped and put the brush on his nightstand. His eyes were cloudy, staring out the window with a vague, far-off gaze. Then he lowered his head into his hands. “Fuck this,” he said, a sob catching onto the end of his voice.

“Oh geez.” There was a tissue box on the dresser as well. Chase picked it up, pulled out a tissue, and handed it to Marvin.

Marvin accepted the tissue, mumbling another “thanks” and pressing it to his eyes. He…well, he’d looked better. Chase was pretty sure he’d been in bed for at least a whole day. Which, Chase had to admit, he could relate to. Sometimes it was tough. And having your friend kidnapped wasn’t easy, for obvious reasons. Jameson had been missing for about three weeks now, and Marvin was having trouble with that. True, he hadn’t reacted this strongly when Jackie disappeared, but even then, he’d had to take a week to himself. And Chase knew that Marvin was pretty close with JJ. He hadn’t been crying about it as much lately, but it would still happen, seemingly triggered by him just…thinking about the situation.

“You need to drink some water, bro,” Chase said. “Losing all this, uh…moisture isn’t good.”

“Moisture?” That momentarily distracted Marvin as he raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Well, I wasn’t going to say ‘fluids.’ You probably would’ve called that out, too.”

“Ah, fair, I guess.” Marvin crumpled up the used tissue and dropped it into the trash bin he’d recently moved near the bed. “Anyway. What’s up with you? What’ve you been doing?”

“Hey, I’m serious about that water thing. You want me to go get a glass from the kitchen?”

“I…yeah, sure. I have a hydro flask in one of the cupboards, use that, not a glass. I don’t want to knock anything over.”

“Great. Be right back.” Chase stood up and hurried to the kitchen. He quickly found the water bottle in one of the cabinets, filling it up with tap water and a few ice cubes before heading back to the bedroom. When he returned, Marvin was lying down again, slowly petting Ragamuffin, who was sitting on the pillow nearby with his head on Marvin’s neck. Chase raised an eyebrow. “That can’t be comfortable.”

“Shhhh. You don’t know the fluffiness,” Marvin said.

“Yeah, I do. I’ve pet him many many times before.” Chase handed Marvin the water bottle. “Good thing I used the lid with the spout thing. Here. Drink that.”

“Mmm.” Marvin started sipping through the attached straw while Chase retook his usual position. After a while, he said, “Soooo…can I ask you what you’ve been doing now?”

“Well I mean…a lot,” Chase said. “I’ve been visiting Schneep and Jack. Both of them are looking a lot better. You should really come with one time, they’d both love to see you, probably Jack especially. Though I mean, talking might be a bit awkward at first. You ever heard of a communication board?”

“Of course. Is Jack using one of those?”

“Yeah, exactly. Cause his, uh, talking and moving isn’t up to par yet.” Chase rubbed the back of his head. “Also, uh…I’m trying to find out more about…Anti.”

“Wh…” Marvin stared at him. He set the water bottle down on the nightstand next to him. “Why?”

“I don’t know, man, I’m ju—I’m tired of not doing anything,” Chase said. “I thought, hey, maybe if I can find something out, I can…I dunno, really. Just help a bit.” He sighed. “I mean, it’s not exactly easy.”

“Oh I can imagine,” Marvin mumbled, reaching up to scratch Ragamuffin’s ears.

“Yeah, he’s a criminal, you know? And a good one. We didn’t even know he existed until Dr. Laurens escaped and confirmed that he did.” Chase made a frustrated noise. “So I mean, looking up news sources is hard. I’ve been trying to find mysterious deaths in the area, going back a few years, but that’s still a lot. And like, he’s gotta have a base somewhere, right? Where he’s keepin—where he has supplies and shit. But how do you find that? God, how did Jackie do this? Seriously, how do you be a detective?”

“Well Jackie, like, went to school for this,” Marvin reasoned. “He knew—knows tricks. What do you mean by news sources? Like, online?”

“Yeah. Why, do you think I should go to the library? Check out old newspapers?”

“I mean…if you’re looking online, maybe he has a website.”

Chase stared at Marvin for a solid thirty seconds. “I’m sorry. A website? A website…for a guy who kills people?”

“They exist,” Marvin said casually. “You remember how I got almost killed back in March?”

“How could I forget that?” The whole story was still pretty unbelievable to him. Marvin had been working for a seemingly normal clothing shop, but because of suspicious activity, decided to look into it. And he’d soon found out that the shop was a front for some sort of smuggling operation, with firearms involved. Not long after that, he’d been attacked on his way home from work, and very nearly died. It hadn’t taken too much thought to realize the shady people behind the operation were behind the attack. “That’s the whole reason you left suddenly.”

“Yeah.” Marvin nodded a bit. “Well, I got curious. I was like, how exactly do you hire someone to kill someone else? So I took my old laptop that I left at my grandma’s house, because like, whatever, it probably should’ve been e-recycled a while ago, or whatever they do. So it didn’t matter what I searched up there, cause I was gonna get rid of it after. And I searched up stuff. And long story short, there is…totally an online market for stuff like that.”

“I…you’re serious?” Chase asked, gaping at him.

“I wouldn’t mess with you about this.”

“It just…seems unbelievable. If there were websites like this, couldn’t the police find them?”

“Sometimes they do.” Marvin’s eyes darkened. “But…there’s a whole…section of the Internet that…isn’t…good. It’s like…for that exact stuff. And if Anti was hired to kill me, he has to have some way for people to…to contact him for stuff like that. A website would be good for that.”

“Oh,” Chase said softly, looking away as he contemplated this new information. It made sense, really. It was more that he didn’t want to believe there was something like that out there. But he had to. So he took a deep breath. “You, uh…know how I’d go about finding something like that?”

Marvin nodded slowly. He gently pushed Ragamuffin away, who didn’t seem to mind and just rolled over, and then sat up. “Hand me that spiral book and one of the pencils from the desk,” he said, pointing. Chase did so, and he started writing down a few things. It took a while, since he would occasionally stop, think about something, and erase and rewrite, but eventually he tore the page out and showed it to Chase. “Here. These are some of the websites I remember, mostly because of the, uh…memorable URLs. Don’t—don’t use a computer you want to keep or have a bunch of information on.”

Chase took the page, scanning the URLs Marvin had written down. There were five of them, and…yeah, he could see why these stuck with him. “Are you gonna do some searching, too? It’d probably go faster with two of us.”

“No.” Marvin immediately shook his head. “I only have my laptop right now, and I really don’t want to compromise that with viruses or anything. That model was expensive, and it’s so much trouble to replace.”

“Oh. Yeah, good point.” Chase hesitated. “Do you…I mean, if you wanted to help me look for Anti, that would be…good. Too. In whatever way.”

Marvin hesitated. Chase could see the battle going on mentally, his usual fiery nature contrasting with the lack of energy he’d clearly been having lately. “I mean…I guess I’ll help you if you need anything,” he finally said after a while.

“That’d be great, bro. I can talk about it when I come over,” Chase said. God, he’d been doing so much visiting lately. Going everywhere, all over the place. It was…tiring. And that wasn’t even including the weekends when he had the kids over at his house. Another reason he hadn’t been able to find much on Anti was because he just didn’t have the time to do any thorough searching. But this website thing seemed easy. He could do it when he got home. “Anyway, keep drinking water. You, like, really need it. And you don’t really get it until you don’t have it.”

“Speaking from personal experience?” Marvin asked, raising an eyebrow.

Chase laughed. “Ah, you caught me. But seriously.”

“Alright, Chase, I understand.” Marvin picked up the water bottle again and started to sip.
.............................................................................................

As it turned out, searching for illegal websites was NOT easy.

Chase had an old computer that he’d been keeping in his closet for ages, ever since he got a new, better one for playing and recording games. He dragged it out, booted it up, and set it through a factory restart, since Marvin had advised against having much personal information. From there, it was a bit of…a shot in the dark, really.

The search took a while. Chase was sure that looking at these websites was putting him on some sort of watchlist somewhere, and he couldn’t help but glance around the room every few minutes. Wasn’t there a video game like this, once? Jack had played it on his YouTube channel. Some game where you searched the messed-up dark side of the Internet. Yeah, that was the one where Jackie showed up in the second episode to help him with the puzzles and stuff. But that was just a game. This was real, and he was paranoid that someone would pop up in the window, staring at him.

By the time he found what he was looking for, it was well into the night, and Chase was positive that his browser had logged this worrying activity and possibly sent it to some agencies somewhere. But the search was a success. He’d clicked on a link reading ‘Antiseptic: For Taking Care of Infections.’ Harmless-sounding, if it hadn’t been on a website that listed several other websites, all somehow involving hiring someone to do shady shit for you.

The website from the link was, admittedly, pretty professional-looking. It could have been for a proper business. But it wasn’t. This was a website where you hired a hitman. And that hitman was Anti. Chase unconsciously leaned back from the screen as he clicked around the webpages. Something about rules, something about rates, something about reviews from customers (all anonymous, of course.) And an About page. Chase hesitated, then clicked on that.

The page that popped up had a bright red banner plastered across the top, reading: ‘IMPORTANT: I am not taking any new jobs for the time being. How long, you ask? Until further notice. Why, you ask? Something needs to be taken care of. Wait for your killing. Or go hire someone else.’ Blunt and to the point, while still being vague. Chase didn’t like the sound of ‘something needs to be taken care of.’ He had the strong suspicion that ‘something’ involved Jameson, and possibly Jackie.

He should tell the police about this website, right? It could be an important lead, not only in finding Jameson and Jackie, but in catching Anti altogether. Chase thought about it, and decided he would. But just in case, he’d keep the computer around and remember this URL. So he could search through this website on his own time.

It was late. He really should go to bed. Well, he might be too anxious to, after spending so much time looking at stuff like this, but he should try. But before he shut down the computer, he decided to check out the reviews section. What sort of reviews would a mercenary have?

He glanced at a couple of them, not wanting too many details, but suddenly stopped. The lowest rated review on the front page—god, killings had ratings, that was messed up—read: ‘Left a complimentary review in March when I thought he efficiently killed the target. But now, turns out the bitch is alive, and this bastard made me pay just for the CHANCE of going after him again. And he hasn’t even done it yet! Hurry up, you’—Chase winced at the word used—‘that Irish fucker could tell anyone by now!’

It was probably just a coincidence, but…the attack on Marvin’s life had happened back in March. And Marvin was Irish. And it had happened because some criminals thought he would tell…no, it was probably just a coincidence. It was a big world, after all.

Chase quickly wrote down the website’s URL and, just in case, the path he went through to get to it. He then closed the browser and shut down the computer. This was intriguing, but he’d have to look it over more later. He had to go tell the police about this the next day. It would have to be early in the morning. He had plans. More visiting to do.
.............................................................................................

By now, Chase was pretty familiar with the visiting room at Silver Hills, as well as the visiting procedure. Enter, sign in who you were and who you were there to see, go wait in the visiting room, and after a while, the patient you were there to see would show up, along with a doctor in tow. Or, well, maybe the doctor was just for a few patients, to keep an eye on the ones who were somehow risky. Either way, the procedure hadn’t changed at all. He breezed right past it today, as always, and didn’t even have time to sit down before the other door in the room opened.

“Chase, my friend!” Schneep gave Chase a quick hug. “It is good to see you again so soon.”

“So soon? It’s been a week, like always.” Chase patted Schneep on the back before pulling away. “But it’s always nice to see you. You look good.”

“Ah, thank you.” Schneep smiled, a bit nervously, twisting his medical bracelet around his wrist.

“I’m serious, Doc.” And it was true; Schneep looked better than he had in a while. His skin had more color, and he’d gained a bit of weight. He was still pretty pale and thin, but it was a welcome, and noticeable, improvement. “Like, your hands aren’t shaking anymore.”

“Hmm?” Schneep looked down at his own hands, holding them still for a moment. “Oh yes. I hadn’t even noticed.”

“Well that’s good,” Chase said encouragingly. “I mean, it’s gotta mean that they’ve figured out, like, medication and stuff.”

“Yes, I think so,” Schneep said, glancing over to the corner of the room where Laurens was sitting, working on something on a clipboard. “Things have stopped changing.”

“Great.” Chase sat down on one of the couches, patting the cushion next to him so Schneep would sit down, which he did. “Anyway, you said last week they’d be moving you back to your first room. Have they done that yet?”

Schneep’s expression brightened. “Yes, they have! Chase, it is so much improved. Even just looking through the window at the ground—well, the window does not open, which I understand, but even just that is so much better. I do wish they would let me wear my own clothes again, but I think that is happening soon.”

“Well it should.” Chase folded his arms, eyeing the plain white shirt and pants Schneep was wearing. “I don’t even understand. Is it that much of a risk?”

“Ah…” Schneep reached up to rub his neck. “Well, not for everyone. You say you do not understand, but I do.”

“If you’re okay with it, then,” Chase said slowly. “Oh, by the way, I brought you something.” He shrugged his backpack off his shoulders, pulling it around to hold in his lap while Schneep watched quizzically. “Stacy and the kids were baking, and they decided to drop some off, and I-I thought, well, I don’t know if there are like sweets in the hospital cafeteria or something, so…” After a bit of rummaging, he pulled out a plastic ziploc bag with a pair of chocolate chip cookies inside. “Here.”

“Oh really?!” Schneep gasped, immediately taking the bag.

“Yeah, really.”

“Thank you!” He wasted no time in opening the bag and taking out one of the cookies, biting into it.

Chase laughed. “I was right, huh? No sweets in the cafeteria?”

Schneep swallowed so he wouldn’t answer with his mouth full. “Well, there are sometimes. I think there is a schedule, maybe for every other day, I do not know. I only started going into the cafeteria…well, I did at the start, but then there was an incident, and—anyway, the point is, I have not been…attending, is that the word? For long enough to learn a schedule. I have only been allowed in the cafeteria and the, ah, rec room recently.”

“Really?” Chase kept a positive note in his voice. “That’s good, right? People say you need a change of environment.”

“Yes.” Again, Schneep glanced over at Laurens. “I hear it is advised. Which is one of the reasons why that—that other doctor was not good at her job.”

“Boy, you are so salty,” Chase said. “But you know what? Go ahead. She was an asshole.”

Schneep laughed.

Chase smiled. “Go ahead and be saltier than those, uh, fucking salt flats in America, or whatever.”

“S-salt flats?” Schneep was laughing so hard that it devolved into coughing. He had to take deep breaths to calm down.

“Yeah, they like, test the speeds of cars out in this spot in the middle of nowhere because it’s so flat. And it’s, like, made of salt, I think.”

“Is that a fact?” Schneep asked, amused.

Chase pulled out his phone. “Well I’m about to check if it is.”

The rest of the visit flew by. They talked about nothing, which was a welcome change of pace. Briefly, Chase considered telling Schneep about Jameson’s disappearance, as he had for the past two visits. But, just like those previous times, he decided against it. It would probably just upset him. And he didn’t even really know who Jameson was, apart from that one time he freaked out after seeing him. And that encounter certainly didn’t leave a good impression. So they talked about little things. Music, and movies, and what was happening with Chase’s kids. Small talk, yes, but it was the only chance they got to have this small talk each week.

Eventually, the time was up. Chase said goodbye and good luck, which Schneep returned, and left, heading back towards the front desk so he could check out.

Shortly after signing out on the visitor’s sheet, he heard footsteps. Chase looked up to see Dr. Laurens had followed him out. “Hey,” she said.

“Hey.” Chase nodded in greeting. “Uh…everything okay?”

“Yes. Why, are you expecting it to not be?”

“I dunno, it’s just that usually when a doctor talks to you after you finished visiting someone, it’s usually with some sort of news.”

Laurens laughed. “No, it’s all fine. Schneep is doing really well, you know, making a lot of progress. Obviously, it really helps that, ah…the head doctor is no longer holding me so tightly to regulations.” She said it delicately. “So he can actually get the help he needs.”

“Yeah, a doctor with a revenge plot isn’t exactly helpful,” Chase commented. “He wasn’t even the right person for that plot in the first place,” he added, muttering.

“Well I-I guess if you want to be blunt about it,” Laurens said. Clearly, that had never been her style. “Anyway, yes, everything’s going great. I just wanted to ask, I was going through his files recently and I noticed you were down as an emergency contact. Are you still okay with that?”

“Yeah, sure. He doesn’t really have any family who’d respond,” Chase said. “Am I the only one?”

“No, your friend Marvin is there, too,” Laurens said. “We, um, tried to contact his wife—or, uh, separated wife—Mina. She hasn’t responded, so I just thought I’d confirm.”

“Really? Did you, like, call her or mail her or something?” Chase asked, intrigued. Mina had sort of been a distant figure for a while. And even before she and Schneep separated, he hadn’t been too familiar with her. A bit odd, really.

“Yes, Schneep gave us her number and mailing address,” Laurens confirmed. “I guess he could have misremembered it, or she could have changed those. But the point is, no response. So you and Marvin are the only contacts.”

“Got it.”

“Great.” Laurens paused. “Um…do YOU need anything? I-I understand your other friend woke up, Jack. You’ve got to be pretty busy.”

“Yeah, really.” She didn’t know the half of it. It was…actually really tiring. But he refused to let this stop him anymore. But…Chase considered something, then leaned closer, and quietly said, “Hey, uh, you’re a therapist. Do you know any, like…other therapists? Not here, like, more casual places. That you go visit.”

“Oh yeah! Hang on a second.” Laurens flipped through the pages of her clipboard, unclipping a blank sheet at the back. She took her pen out from behind her ear and wrote something down. “Here. This is the agency I worked for before here. Well…I mean I worked here before. But then I quit and worked there, and came back here—you get the picture.” She laughed awkwardly. “Anyway, there’s a website I’ve written down there. They have listings for different therapists, sorted by specialties and methods, and including, uh, short biographies so you can get to know them a bit before you actually make a booking. So you can know what you’re looking for.”

“Thanks.” Chase took the piece of paper and looked it over. “That was…more information than I thought, really.”

“Well I wasn’t about to just recommend someone,” Laurens said. “That’s for you—or, uh, anyone who’s therapist-shopping.”

That got a laugh out of Chase. “Alright. Anyway, thanks again.” He folded up the paper and put it in his pocket. “I’ll see you next week.”

“See you,” Laurens waved as Chase left.

Yes, next week. Assuming nothing went wrong and she had to contact him beforehand. But it probably wouldn’t.
.............................................................................................

The recreation room of Silver Hills was a large, wide room on the second floor. Schneep hadn’t been in there much. Of course, for a long time Dr. Newson hadn’t allowed it, on the basis of it being dangerous. But even when he first checked in, he didn’t go down to this room that often. Maybe once, to see what it looked like. He hadn’t exactly been in the right mental space for recreation at the time. Too…well, he supposed ‘paranoid’ might be the right word. He didn’t want to get too attached to the space in case this whole thing turned out to be a trick.

But now, he thought he should give it a try. Maybe it would be helpful, to have more to do. He might be able to take his mind off things.

The room had a wall with windows overlooking the front of the hospital, and two doors on the walls to either side. Because of safety concerns, the entertainment was a bit limited. For example, some rec rooms might have a pool table. Not here. Some might have cabinets with board games. Not here. But there was still several playing card games, some pinball machines, and a TV with access to television channels and able to stream movies. There were three tables, each with a cluster of chairs, a couple sofas and armchairs near the TV, and paintings on the wall as decoration.

There were several people already in the room when Schneep peeked in. Mostly patients, with a few orderlies sitting around, identifiable by their uniforms. A group was sitting at one of the tables playing a card game, a couple were at a different table talking to each other and drawing with crayons—maybe a bit childish, but Laurens had stated that colored pencils weren’t allowed—and a few more were sitting around the TV, watching. A few of them had paused whatever they were doing to look over towards the door when it opened, and Schneep immediately froze.

“You okay?” Oliver, the usual orderly, was accompanying him to the room. They still hadn’t lightened up the rule about him being able to walk around on his own, though Laurens had said she was working on it. “Do you want to go back?”

“Nein, no no, I am fine,” Schneep muttered, stepping further into the room and looking around. He couldn’t help but notice he was the only one wearing the standard-issue white shirt and pants. Was that why some of them were staring at him? Or did they just like staring at people?

“Alright, just tell me if there’s anything wrong,” Oliver said, walking in behind him and keeping to the edges of the room, as he usually did.

Schneep nodded vaguely, glancing around to give everyone in the room a second look. Unfamiliar, all of them. There was one, part of the group playing cards, who was really staring at him, but everyone else had turned away, so that was probably her problem more than anything. Folding his arms—well, it wasn’t technically folding his arms, he just sort of grabbed each elbow with a hand—Schneep walked over to the seats by the TV and sat down in the nearest empty armchair. This was fine. That one other patient had stopped staring by now and looked back at the card game, which meant that nobody was looking at him. And that was good. Well, Oliver was there, keeping an eye on things. But nobody was watching him. Really. Nobody was. He didn’t see anyone looking. Everything was fine.

Okay, time to see if he could distract himself. What was on the TV? Schneep took a deep breath as he checked it out. It was definitely a movie of some kind, live-action, but not one that was familiar to him. It had that appearance of an older movie, something in the grain of the film or the delivery of the lines giving away that it was at least a couple decades old. Huh. That was…interesting.

“Hey.”

Schneep jumped, looking to the side. A man was looking at him. Sitting on one of the sofas, near the end closest to his own chair. “Ja? Um, yes?”

“Are you new here?” The man didn’t look too intimidating. Sandy blonde hair and freckles, wearing a blue t-shirt. He had a medical bracelet on his wrist, too.

“No, not at all,” Schneep said. “Why?”

“I just didn’t recognize you. I’ve been here a couple months, I think I recognize the usual crowd in the room. How long’ve you been?”

“Um…” Schneep paused for a second to do the math. It was now November, so that was…“A half a year.”

“Oh.” The man’s eyebrows shot upward.

“Yes, I, um, have not been in this room much. I was not—things were not…not good,” Schneep said awkwardly.

“Ohhhh.” The man nodded in understanding. “I see. I’m Finn, by the way.”

“Henrik.”

“Henrik? Are you—I mean, I don’t want to assume, but your accent, uh, are you German?”

“Yes.”

“Cool. Nice to meet you.”

“Thank you. The same.” This was starting to feel a bit awkward. Or maybe it was just him, Finn seemed perfectly comfortable. Schneep turned away, looking back at the TV. “What…is this?”

“The movie? Uh…I don’t know.” Finn shrugged. “I came in when it was already playing. I think Kellie chose it. But it’s, like, something about cars? And this family where the dad’s an inventor? I don’t know. It’s a musical.”

“Hm.” Schneep glanced around the room again. Was there anything else to do? The card game group was starting something new, one of them shuffling the deck. No, no. He didn’t want to interrupt. Maybe he could ask for some drawing supplies from the two who were coloring. Laurens did a drawing exercise with him once, and it had actually been kind of fun. Oh, wait, was there someone new here? There was something moving in the corner of his vision. It could just be in his head, but he turned to look anyway—

The moment he caught full sight of the movement, he cried out, jumping backwards and awkwardly falling out of the chair. He landed on his back, legs still up in the air, but quickly scrambled to his feet, looking back towards what he’d seen.

No. Nobody was there. But it was near one of the room’s doors, what if he left? What if he was—everyone was staring at him. They all were, they all had to be.

“Are you alright?” Finn asked, a concerned expression on his face.

“I-I-I—” Schneep backed up, once again assuming the folded arms position from before. “Don’t—look at me.”

“Oh, uh, sorry.” Finn looked away.

Schneep shuddered a bit, eyes fixed on the point where he saw—he couldn’t really have been there, it must have been in his head. It’s happened before. He’s seen him before…in his head. It. It was the same now. Had to be. Just. Just in his head. Not real.

But he couldn’t fully convince himself. Slowly, he backed up until he hit the nearest wall. Oliver, who’d been sitting nearby, stood up and walked over. “Do you need anything?” he asked quietly.

“I-I—am—will go back to safe—to my room,” Schneep stammered.

“Alright, let’s go then.” Oliver gestured to the door. Not the one that was close to…what he’d seen. Schneep nodded vaguely, and walked over to the door and out, with the orderly trailing behind him. Once they were out of the room, Oliver asked, “Anything else?”

Schneep took a deep breath in, then out. In, then out. It was a relaxation technique, and concentrating on that helped. Gave his brain something to do. “I…the hospital is—is very secure, yes? You cannot break in?”

“It’d be very difficult,” Oliver agreed. “You’d need a key card. And we do have security cameras. Someone would notice.”

“Good. Very good.” In. Out. In. Out. Laurens had reassured him many times before. Anti couldn’t get in here. So what he saw…it must have been…not real.

"I’m real as ever, Henrik."

Schneep almost responded, but then firmly shut his mouth. It didn’t help to acknowledge the voices. It didn’t help to acknowledge any of them, even if he wanted to. Everything was going to be okay. This was a safe place. He didn’t have to worry about anything.

He kept reminding himself of these facts even hours after the incident. Anti couldn’t get in here. It wasn’t possible. This was a safe place. Everything was going to be okay.
.............................................................................................

Well that was a failed test run.

Anti flipped the keycard between his fingers, watching it twirl through the air as he leaned back in his desk chair. He hadn’t been expecting to be spotted. They didn’t know what he looked like, and he had a small disguise, just in case. He thought that hiding his scars and darkening his hair would be enough to prevent him from being noticed. But apparently, he’d left quite an impression on the good doctor.

No one would believe him, of course. Judging by that psychiatrist’s notes, the one in the turquoise notebook, spotting Anti was a common hallucination of Schneep’s. No one would know that it was real, this time. But still. It was the principle.

Sitting up straight, Anti swiveled in his chair to face a computer monitor. The screen was divided into four sections, each showing a different angle of a single room with pale yellow walls and a pair of bunk beds. Maybe four cameras was overkill, but better safe than sorry. It looked like the two people in the room were having a conversation. He turned on the audio so he could listen in.

“—never had any siblings,” Jackie was saying, slowly swaying from side to side where he was sitting in one of the chairs. “Mom wasn’t very, uh—I-I was a miracle baby. Though sometimes I joke that I had a sister, but really it was me before I transitioned.”

'So I’m the only one in the group,' JJ signed. He was sitting in the other chair at the table, across from Jackie. Each of them had a plate in front of them with a sandwich and a bottle of juice.

“Yeah. Unless you count Chase’s sister-in-law, but eh. None of us do.” Jackie shrugged.

JJ laughed a bit, which soon faded. 'I should have asked about your family sooner, Jackie. Even before…all of this happened. I’m sorry.'

“No, it’s fine,” Jackie reassured him. “I mean, family was probably a thing for you, right? Considering…this whole situation.”

Jameson nodded, looking a bit paler.

Watching the conversation, Anti frowned. That was hardly fair.

'Anyway, I’d much rather talk about other people’s families, for obvious reasons,' JJ continued. 'Like…for example, your friend Henrik. He doesn’t have any siblings either?'

“No. And, uh, before you can ask about his parents…they’re assholes.” Jackie’s voice turned bitter. “They don’t live here, they’re back in Germany, and he’s very glad for that.”

'Ah. Sorry for asking.'

“No, it’s fine. Really.” Jackie frowned, and sat up straight. “You, uh…I-I don’t remember you apologizing as much before,” he said slowly. “Are you…okay?”

Jameson started to sign sorry, but then caught himself. He leaned over onto the table, briefly hiding his head in his arms before signing, 'I was working on that with my therapist. But now, it’s just all...' He couldn’t even find the words and just threw his hands up in the air before hiding his head in his arms again.

Jackie leaned forward and placed his hand on Jameson’s arm. “It’s fine. We’re, uh…under a lot of stress. It makes sense that you’d, uh…things would happen again. It’s not wrong or anything. I think you’re doing great.”

Anti switched off the audio and looked away. Nothing was wrong with apologizing. It certainly wasn’t something you needed to talk to a therapist about. In fact, why did Jameson even need a therapist? He was fine.

Well…no, he wasn’t. Because he was different. Anti had backed off for a bit, giving him space to adjust, and then started talking with him again. Not for very long, but he’d come into the room, Jackie would back off and stay quiet, and he’d talk to Jameson. The goal was to regain trust, but it just wasn’t working. Jameson was anywhere from unresponsive to aggressive towards him. He didn’t get it. Yes, the initial approach wasn’t good, he’ll admit that. But what else was he supposed to do? He was trying to make up for it. The room was starting to get a bit crowded with all the things he’d given him. Books, a music player, even a beanbag chair. Anything he wanted.

Well, almost anything. He couldn’t give him everything right away, otherwise there would be nothing left for good behavior.

Anti sighed. And once again, he twirled the keycard through his fingers. And it gave him an idea. What if…one of those rewards…yes, that might work.

That might work indeed.

Anti slowly grinned, and opened up his calendar to figure out when would be the best time to enact the plan that was forming in his mind.

Part Eighteen of The Stitched AU
A JSE Fanfic
[This is part of a completed fanfic series of mine with 24 total chapters. I started this October of 2018 and finished it May of 2021. It appears the boys' magical activities have attracted some unwanted attention.]
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It was 6:45 am, and Chase had been awake for three hours. He’d been staring up at the ceiling the whole time, listening to the sound of JJ’s slight snores as he tried to get his mind to shut off. Of course, eventually, it was a lost cause, and sat up, looking around the dark room.

He’d been sharing the guest bedroom with JJ and Jack, usually spending the night on the spare air mattress with a sleeping bag. Though it appeared he’d fallen asleep on the actual bed this time. JJ had fallen asleep on the mattress instead, and Jack was nowhere to be seen. Chase couldn’t help but feel guilt curl in his stomach. Standing up, he grabbed his cap, adjusted his bandanna, which he’d apparently fallen asleep in, and quietly slipped out.

Stacy was in the kitchen (also dark, perhaps there was an issue with the power,) shoving the last dregs of cereal into her mouth. She paused for a moment, glancing towards Chase as he entered, then continued. “Uh…hey,” Chase muttered.

“Hey,” Stacy replied. She was wearing her work uniform, the simple skirt and apron that designated her as a waitress at the Dish and Glass diner. “So I have to leave literally right now.”

“Okay.”

“You remember how you promised we’d talk about everything going on with you once I got home, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And also the power’s gone out. I think it must be a problem with the city grid, cause I looked at the fuse box and it seems alright.”

“Okay.”

“…okay, then.” Stacy finished off the cereal, dropping the spoon with a clatter. She stood up, grabbing her purse and jacket from the nearby chair. Chase followed her as she went into the living room and opened the front door. Before she left, Stacy hesitated, and looked back. “You’re not…thinking about doing anything…?” She trailed off.

“Anything what?” Chase asked.

Stacy shrugged. The motion, usually so blunt and casual, seemed more hesitant than usual. “I don’t know. Just…” She sighed. “I hate to bring up old wounds, you know, but…after everything happened, with us, you just sort of…and then…never mind. Just don’t do anything…you shouldn’t.”

Chase nodded slowly. There was a small ache in his chest. “I’m not…being serious about doing anything…I shouldn’t.”

“Um…good.” Stacy nodded. “I’ll see you this afternoon.”

“See you.”

After Stacy left, Chase walked over to the nearest armchair and sat down hard. A few minutes passed. And suddenly, he laughed. “Perfect, now I’m staring at the living room ceiling instead of the bedroom ceiling. Fucking awesome. The patterns here are so much more interesting.”

“Well you do not need to rub it in.”

“Aaak—!” Chase jumped, flailing for a bit before looking over at the sofa. Schneep was laying on it, mostly covered by a blanket. If Chase didn’t know any better, he’d think that Schneep was also staring at the ceiling. “Jesus, man, I’m sorry, didn’t see you there.”

Schneep waved away his comment. “Is fine. I did not say anything.” He fell silent for a moment. “So. I could not help but overhear you two talking.”

“Oh, uh, did we wake you up? Sorry.”

“Not you, Stacy did. She was getting ready.” Schneep turned his head towards Chase. “This is not the point. Are you…Chase, are you okay?”

“I…yeah, I’m fine. Relatively, I mean.” Chase swallowed a lump in his throat.

“Hmm.” Schneep narrowed his eyes. “You said ‘I am not being serious about doing anything I shouldn’t.’”

“Well, I’m not,” Chase protested. “I just…sometimes things happen.”

Schneep didn’t answer for a moment. The silence weighed heavy in the early morning light. “Sometimes they are just thoughts, Chase,” he finally said, almost too quiet to be heard.

Chase sighed quietly and didn’t say anything. It just felt like everything was crushing him right now. Slowly. “I said something awful to Jay before you showed up,” he said quietly.

“Really?” Schneep answered in the same quiet tone.

“I didn’t mean it. It was just…things were getting heated. A-and now I don’t…don’t know what to say to fix it. I tried to apologize. It…came out wrong.”

Schneep paused. “Perhaps you just need more time?”

Chase shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Then you just need to find the right words.”

“I don’t know how,” Chase breathed.

“Well…then it is a good thing you have other friends, yes?” Schneep asked. “If you need an impartial…judge is not the correct word, but anyway, I was not there. I could—”

The doorbell rang.

Chase jumped again, then couldn’t help but chuckle. “Oh my god, the worst timing.” Sighing, he leaned back into chairs. “Probably sales people or something.”

“Ach.” Schneep scowled. “Ignore them. Always trying to sell you things.”

A smile pulled at the corner of Chase’s mouth. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s what sales people do.”

Another ring, followed by a few knocks. “Persistent, whoever they are,” Schneep commented.

“Yeah.” Chase stood up. He was pretty sure that sales people waited at least a few minutes before ringing the doorbell again. He was pretty sure that most people did. “I’ll check it out.” Sighing, he walked up to the door and cracked it open.

An older woman in a neat navy-blue suit was standing at the door, dark hair swept to the back in a braid. She looked very out of place in the family-oriented suburb Stacy’s house was located in. “Hello, my name is Delyth Mae, I’m from the Department of Safety on the local City Council,” she said smoothly.

Chase blinked. “Uh…hi.”

Delyth nodded. “I’m out here with a team. It seems there have been some unusual radiation readings in this neighborhood.”

“…uh-huh.” Chase didn’t know what else to say. He was well aware that most people would’ve been at least a little concerned, but he’d been through worse. At least radiation wasn’t going to kill you right away. Or make you kill other people. Or—

“Ah, well.” Delyth seemed a bit…uncomfortable with Chase’s odd reaction. No, it wasn’t quite uncomfortable. Concerned? Maybe. Interested? Yes, in some way. “Anyway, we’ve traced these readings to this house. May my team and I come inside to see what the problem is?”

“Um…” Chase caught movement in the corner of his eye. He glanced over to see Schneep, now standing up, eyes narrowed and facing the door. “One second,” Chase said, closing the door before Delyth could protest. “What’s wrong?” He asked Schneep.

“I…she feels…different,” Schneep said slowly.

Chase blinked. “‘Feels different’ in the way that you couldn’t feel Jackie or Marvin and they turned out to be…?”

“I suppose.” Schneep folded her arms. “Well, I can feel her, but it is different. It is…spicy.”

Chase stifled a laugh, turning it into an awkward snort. “Spicy?”

“It is the best I can do, okay?” Schneep snapped. “Is…scharf, it verbrennt deine Nase.”

“Why are you talking about noses?”

“Look, do not let her in, okay?” Schneep headed to the hall. “I will wake up the others, I think they must know.”

“Uh, okay.” Chase opened the door again. Delyth Mae was standing there, looking over her shoulder. It was then that Chase noticed the unfamiliar gray van parked on the side of the street. There was a logo on it that read “Department of Safety,” but for some reason, that didn’t reassure him. He’d never heard of the Department of Safety before. “So…” he said, and Delyth immediately turned back to look at him. “This is, uh…actually my ex’s house. And I just remembered, she left for work a few minutes ago. I don’t really want to let anyone inside without her here, you know?”

“That’s very understandable, sir,” Delyth nodded. “But this will only take a few moments, and it really is in the best interest of her, and you.”

“Yeah, uh…can you come back this afternoon? She’ll be back after three.”

Delyth went silent, eyes darting around Chase to try and catch a glimpse of the inside of the house. Then she smiled. “Very well, sir. But if I may ask, may one of my team members take reading from this threshold?”

“You mean, like, on the step?” Chase considered this briefly. That couldn’t really do anything, could it? “Sure, I guess.”

“Excellent.” Delyth turned and waved at the van. Its passenger side door opened, and a younger man, dressed neatly but not as formally as a suit, stepped out and rushed up to the doorway.

“Hi,” Chase said idly. “I’m just gonna, uh, stand here while you…” he trailed off. The young man’s eyes were yellow. No, they weren’t just yellow, they were glowing. How were they glowing? That was odd, but it was…oddly pretty…

The effect was almost instant. Chase found himself relaxing, almost falling over. It was like being wrapped in a warm, familiar blanket.

“Man, that was easy. Barely did anything.”

“Yes yes, can we go inside now?”

“Hey. Let us in.”

Chase stood aside, pushing the door open. A moment later, Delyth walked inside, followed by the man with the glowing yellow eyes and, a few minutes later, another young lady who looked quite similar to the other man. Chase blinked. What…just hap—

He screamed.

The three strangers stopped in their tracks, spinning around to look at him. “What—?” Delyth couldn’t even finish the question, watching in disbelief as Chase suddenly sank to the floor, pressing his hands to his neck and hyperventilating.

“Oh my god, Tavish, what did you do?!” The young woman said.

“I don’t know! Nobody’s ever reacted like that before!” The young man protested.

“Enough!” Delyth snapped. “You two, go search the place! I’ll deal with this.” The other two nodded, and disappeared further into the house while Delyth kneeled next to Chase. “Sir, I understand this is probably overwhelming, but—”

Chase’s hand suddenly shot out and grabbed her jacket, yanking her close. “What the fuck are you?!” He shouted, blinking back sudden tears. “Why are you here? Can’t we have one fucking place that’s safe?!”

“Sir.” Delyth remained remarkably calm, carefully pulling her suit fabric out of Chase’s fist. “It’s okay, we mean no harm. We’re magicians.”

Everything froze for a moment, Chase’s whirling thoughts grinding to a sudden halt. Then he started to laugh. “Ohhh of fucking course! Of course of course of course—” Any recognizable words disappeared into hysterical gasping.

“I understand it’s a lot to take in,” Delyth said evenly. “And I do apologize for making Monroe put you under suggestion. But this is an urgent matter. We’ve been tracking an unusual—sir, please remember to breathe. Evenly. Count the seconds if you must.” She reached out to put her hands on Chase’s shoulder, and he slapped her arms away. “Alright, then. Even breaths, sir.”

Chase ducked his head, pulling up his knees so he could hide his face. His shoulders shook with the effort to control his breathing. It was just—magicians. How did none of them ever think of magicians? Of course if Marvin and Jackie could do magic, then other people would be able to, as well. They weren’t special. JJ had tons of magic books, too. Where else would he have gotten them except from magicians? After a few more seconds, Chase looked up at Delyth, who was waiting patiently. “What,” he hissed, “do you want?”

“We’ve been tracking an unusual magical signature for the past two weeks or so,” Delyth explained. “It has been wandering around, but we did a more in-depth scan last night and found that it’s now stopped here.”

“An unusual…?” Chase repeated, mumbling. Well, he could think of at least six things that could be referring to.

A loud THUD! came from down the hall.

Delyth’s head snapped towards the sound. She immediately stood up and ran towards it. Chase sat, puzzled for a moment, until it hit him like a bucket of cold water: the others. He scrambled to his feet and ran after her.

The door to the guest bedroom was flung open wide, a blue glow emitting from the doorway. Chase and Delyth ran inside, both stopping soon after. The two young magicians were facing Jack, Schneep, and JJ, who were pressed against the wall. The magicians’ eyes were glowing, and the woman had her hand extended, holding a long, white…wand, that was the only word for it. Flakes of ice blue magic drifted around it. A bright blue circle was shielding the other three, curving around them. JJ had his hands extended as well, clearly holding the shield in place. His mask was missing and his hair and clothes were a mess, but he wasn’t faltering. Schneep stood next to him, holding his scissors like he was ready to stab with them at any moment, his scleras strangely black. Jack was behind the two of them, and the first to notice when Chase and Delyth entering. “Chase!” he yelled. “What’s going on?!”

“Uhh I wish I knew,” Chase said. “These guys are like…magicians.”

“Yes, we are magicians,” Delyth repeated absentmindedly. “Nairne, what happened? I heard a noise.”

The young woman—Nairne, apparently—gestured with her head towards the bed. The nightstand had been knocked over and thrown a foot away. Pale blue magic was spreading like frost along the wall and floor. “We heard talking in here, and when we came to check it out, this crazy guy attacked us!”

“Excuse me, you threw that magic at us BEFORE I pushed you!” Schneep spoke up, protesting.

The young man—Tavish—scoffed. “Oh hell no, we just walked in and you flipped out!”

“I did not make it physical!”

“Everyone calm down!” Delyth shouted. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Tavish, can you run the seek again?”

Tavish nodded, eyes flashing yellow once before he closed them, muttering words under his breath. After a moment, he pointed at Schneep. “It’s coming from him.” He then moved a bit to point at Jack. “He kind of has a signature, too, but it’s a lot different, and weaker.”

“Wait, what?” Jack said. “Signature?”

Delyth nodded, like she was expecting this. “You two give off distinct magical signatures. We’ve been trying to pin down this one for a while.”

Jack laughed. “Oh yeah, we have magic fingerprints, not the guy holding up the shield, that makes sense.” He glanced at JJ, who shrugged.

“No, the warlock has one, too,” Tavish said. “But it’s not what we were looking for.”

“Hey, uh, don’t take this the wrong way,” Chase jumped in. “But I really don’t like having this discussion while that lady is pointing her magic wand at my friends.”

Nairne shot Chase a nasty glare. “Well I don’t like putting my wand down while your friend is trying to stab me with scissors.”

“I was not going to stab you!” Schneep protested. “Not unless I had to!”

“Alright, look.” Delyth’s eyes flashed purple, and she stomped her foot. The ground shook, and Nairne and Schneep dropped their things. “There. We’re all even, can we discuss this civilly?”

JJ nodded, and lowered the shield. He looked around at his friends. 'I think this has been a misunderstanding,' he said. 'They might work for the ABIM. I’ve never met anyone from them, but I know they mean well.'

“Um…” Tavish coughed awkwardly. “Sorry, are you deaf?”

“I think the signing has something to do with the…situation going on with his mouth,” Nairne muttered.

“Ah yes, the…stitch-uation,” Tavish chuckled.

Everyone else winced. JJ glared at him. 'Of course, that doesn’t stop them from being insensitive pricks.' He finished off the statement with a gesture that you didn’t need to know sign to grasp the meaning of.

“Hey!” Tavish protested.

“Bit of a dick move there, dick,” Nairne said.

“Completely unprofessional,” Delyth said, leveling Tavish with a glare. “Do you want another citation?”

“No!” Tavish rushed to say. “No, not—” He turned to Jameson. “I-I’m sorry.”

JJ didn’t say anything, just folded his arms.

“Ummm anyway,” Jack said, walking around to stand beside JJ instead of behind him. “What was that you were saying? Those letters…ABIM?”

“The Association of British and Irish Magicians,” Delyth said coolly. “Yes, we represent them. For the past two weeks, we’ve been tracking down a strange magical signature.”

“She said that earlier,” Chase said, edging around the magicians to go stand with the other three.

“This investigation was spurred because someone teleported into the midst of our library, which is warded strongly, and should prevent any teleportation.” Delyth’s eyes ran over the group of four. “I was there. I saw someone appear, then almost immediately disappear. Though I did not get a good look, I do think it was one of you.”

“It was me,” Schneep said, raising his hand. “Thank you, now I know that that really happened. Was my back to you? Otherwise I am sure you would remember the scars.”

“Yes, it was just the back, but I recognize your hair. Vaguely.” Delyth clasped her hands together. “Tavish here, though his attitude is something to be said, is one of our best trackers. We’ve been following your signature for a long time.”

“Look.” Schneep stepped forward, in front of the other three. “If I did something wrong, I did not know that I did. I…was still getting used to my abilities. They were going hay-wired. I apologize if I troubled you, but do not bring the others into this.”

Delyth said nothing. Tavish and Nairne stared at her, waiting for a response. Then, slowly, she nodded. “I see. So you don’t know.”

Schneep paused. “Know what?”

“There is an…oddly high amount of soul magic in the city,” Delyth stated.

There was another small pause. “Okay…?” Jack said. “Is that a problem?”

“It is…strange.” Delyth said slowly. “There is only one soul magician in Mirygale, and she has nothing to do with this.”

JJ’s eyes widened. He turned to the others. 'Soul magic is very rare. It’s a talent you either have to be born with, or have accumulated throughout years of practice. So if there is a strangely high amount of rare soul magic in one given place, it may be cause for concern.'

“Um…” Nairne shifted on her feet. “Can we…can someone…?”

“JJ just explained that soul magic is rare,” Chase summarized.

“It is,” Delyth agreed. “And you two—” She pointed at Schneep and Jack. “—are giving off soul-based magical signatures.”

“How can something be soul-based?” Jack asked. “Doesn’t everyone have a soul?”

“Yeah, but not everyone has the right kind of magic that can mess with souls,” Tavish said. “It’s very distinct.”

“So you can understand why we’d want to figure out what’s going on,” Delyth said. “But it seems none of you know anything.”

Chase, Jack, and Schneep muttered in agreement, but JJ looked thoughtful. 'Jack, can you translate this question?' He asked. 'Can you ask them if a transference spell is soul-based?'

“Oh, uh, sure,” Jack said. “JJ just asked if a transference spell is soul-based.”

The three magicians went very still. “How do you know about that?” Delyth asked in a low voice.

“Uh…it’s a long story,” Jack said. “Why, is it…bad?”

“That is very dark magic,” Nairne muttered, glancing back at the other two.

“Something’s off about them,” Tavish said. “We should take them in!”

Suddenly Schneep was holding his scissors again. “Go ahead and try.”

“Hey, let’s not fight, how about?” Chase said, raising his voice. “I wasn’t lying about this being my ex’s house, and she won’t be happy to come back to it trashed. And the girls are still asleep—”

“Are there children in this house?!” Delyth suddenly asked, looking around.

“Yeah, two of them,” Chase said. “I’m assuming they’re still asleep, I might be wrong.”

While Delyth and Chase were talking, Nairne and Tavish exchanged a look. Tavish raised an eyebrow, and Nairne nodded. Nobody else noticed except for JJ, whose eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Nairne suddenly flung her hand outward, sending a spray of white-blue magic outward. JJ was already moving, conjuring up his shield a second time. The magic bounced off it, attaching itself to the walls on either side and and spreading.

“Hey!” Schneep’s head whipped toward Nairne. “That is cheating!”

“Guess you won’t like this either, then,” Tavish muttered, and made a throwing motion at the shield. A ball of yellow light attached itself to the bright blue glow. JJ barely had time to glance at it before the ball suddenly exploded outwards, shattering the shield and sending the four flying.

“What are you doing?!” Delyth’s composure snapped as she yelled at the other magicians.

Nairne bent over and scooped up her wand. “They’re suspicious as fuck, so we’re taking them in! That’s part of the regulations, Mae.”

Schneep suddenly appeared behind Nairne, scissors open wide and held very close to her throat. “You have shitty regulations, then.”

Tavish glanced over at Nairne, then elected to throw another ball of magic towards Jack and Chase. JJ intercepted it, catching the ball in a net of blue magic, which wrapped around it in a sphere and absorbed the explosion. Chase looked away from the flash of yellow, and notices that in the commotion, something fell out of the nightstand drawer. He lunged forward and grabbed the gun by the handle. “Can we all just calm down?!” Jack shouted.

Nairne pointed her wand over her shoulder, a bolt of icy magic shooting out from it and hitting Schneep in the face. He gasped and stumbled backwards, wiping the magic away. Tavish chuckled, and threw another ball over at Nairne and Schneep. Nairne dived away, but Schneep got caught in the blast. He flew through the air and hit the wall hard.

“Enough!” Delyth shouted, eyes starting to glow purple.

Schneep got to his feet. “Yes, enough!” His eyes flashed turquoise, and the world shifted.

The ground seemed to tilt, the air wavering and warping, blurring the surroundings. Chase, in the middle of standing up, fell back to his knees and covered his hand with his mouth. JJ staggered, arms pinwheeling. Jack squeezed his eyes shut.

And suddenly, the four of them weren’t in the house anymore. Instead, they found themselves in the living room of an apartment, one that was familiar to all of them, even though the room was dim, lit only by morning sunlight coming through the windows. Jack opened his eyes. “Schneep…did you somehow take us to your place?”

“Yes,” Schneep said plainly. He was unaffected by the journey.

JJ leaned against the back of the nearest sofa, looking around. 'Seems not much has changed,' he said.

Schneep nodded. “I try to keep it in order.”

Chase scrambled to his feet. “What the fuck, dude?! My kids are still there! With the crazy magicians!”

“I…ah.” Schneep coughed. “I did not think of that.”

“Chase, it’s okay,” Jack said, standing up. “You saw the way that…leader lady reacted to hearing the kids were in the house. She won’t involve them.”

“It’s not so much her that I’m worried about as the two other assholes,” Chase snapped.

'They were remarkably rude,' JJ signed, frowning.

“Ah…does anyone want something to eat?” Schneep hurriedly said. “I have been stocking the kitchen cabinets.”

Chase sighed, and collapsed on the room’s armchair. “Yeah…fine. I just…” He rubbed his face. “God, Stacy’s gonna be so pissed when she gets back.”

'Can she call you?' JJ asked. 'Do you have your phone?'

“Uh…” Chase checked his jean pockets, then his hoodie pocket. “Oh, yeah.” He pulled out his phone, turning on the screen. “It’s kinda low, though. I never got around to charging it last night.”

“Your phone?” Schneep asked.

“Fuck, I mean, yeah, Doc,” Chase said. “JJ asked me if I had my phone.”

Schneep nodded. “I am now assuming that any pause you have is JJ speaking.”

“That’s fair.”

“Hey, can we talk about what just happened?” Jack piped up. “Some magicians showed up, telling us that wow, not only is magic real, but there’s a whole magic community with apparently some sort of fucking…I don’t know, government, then they call JJ a warlock, tell us Schneep and I have unique fucking signatures or something, and attack us?”

“I think they were trying to, like, arrest us,” Chase said. “That guy, he had…mind…” He paused, distress flashing across his face for less than a second. “I mean, uh, mines. Like, magic mines. Maybe it was a knockout…thing.”

Jack gave Chase a peculiar, but sympathetic, look, then moved on. “Maybe. Apparently we were suspicious, I dunno.”

“I think the suspicious part was that we knew what this…transference is,” Schneep muttered. He walked over to the edge of the room just so he could lean against the wall.

'They said it was very dark magic,' JJ said. 'Which does check out with what we know about it.'

Jack quickly translated the signs for Schneep, then added, “Okay, but that’s no reason to immediately attack.”

“There is also a high amount of soul magic in the city,” Schneep recalled. “Which is unusual, yes? Perhaps they thought we were behind it?”

Chase sighed. “We’re not. But…maybe we know who is.”

Silence fell over the group, echoing with memories. “But…Anti is…gone now,” Jack said hesitantly. “So maybe the soul magic will…I don’t know, fade back to normal levels. And they’ll leave us alone.”

“Maybe,” Schneep muttered. He straightened. “Well, my offer of food still stands. Who will come to the kitchen with me?”

“Let’s just all go,” Jack said.

'That sounds good,' JJ agreed.

Chase looked down at his phone again. “You guys go ahead. I think I’ll…I might call Stacy, try to explain what just happened.”

“Alright. We’ll get you chips or something,” Jack said.

The three of them disappeared through a side door, leaving Chase sitting there. He opened up his contacts, then hesitated. Yeah…he should tell her. He should. Just in case.
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Stacy was taking her first fifteen-minute break in the back room of the diner when her phone started ringing. She huffed quietly. The ringing had interrupted the mindless scrolling through Instagram that she’d been using to try to relax. She didn’t recognize the number, so she hung up. And then it called again. And once she hung up again, it called. Sighing quietly, she picked up the call, figuring the person was going to keep trying. “Hello?”

“Hi, um, I’m looking for Chase?” An unfamiliar man’s voice asked.

“You have the wrong number,” Stacy said coolly.

“What? Really?” The man said, surprised. “That’s…weird. Uh, do you know Chase Brody?”

“He’s my ex.”

“Oh fuck. Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Stacy was starting to relax a bit. A spam call probably wouldn’t use such casual language. “Uh, if you want I can tell him you called.”

“Well, he doesn’t know me,” the man said. “I’m a friend of a friend.”

And Stacy was once again suspicious. “How’d you get this number?”

“Through that friend,” the man explained. “I asked him to give me Chase’s number so I could call him for him, but I guess he just remembered yours. That’s…a bit weird.”

“Very weird,” Stacy agreed. “What friend wanted you to call him?”

“What friend wanted me to call Chase?”

“Yeah.”

There was a slight pause, then a sigh. “This is going to sound insane,” the man said. “Anyway, I thought the friend was dead, we kinda all did, but apparently he’s here, and he really, REALLY wants to find Chase but can’t remember his address, or apparently his phone number.” He paused. “The friend’s name is Jackie.”

Stacy was frozen for a moment. Jackie? The Jackie that they’d gone to the funeral of, where Chase has cried the whole time? “Is this a fucking prank?!” She suddenly snapped. “Cause it’s not funny to make—”

“No no no, I promise, it’s not a prank, I have just as much idea what’s going on as you do,” the man hurried to say. “I thought Jackie was dead, but no, he’s…he’s RIGHT HERE. I’m literally staring at him. And he wants to meet up with Chase.”

Stacy sighed deeply. This was going to be more of that bullshit Chase and his friends were getting caught up in, huh? The bullshit that they still wouldn’t tell her about? “Okay, I’ll tell Chase you called, tell him to…check on you or something, I dunno.”

“That would be great,” the man said. “Oh, uh, my name’s Malcolm. Malcolm Akela, you should be able to find my address online or in a phone book or something. Just in case you need something.”

“Uh-huh.” Stacy glanced at the clock. Her break was almost up. “Well, look, I gotta go, but I’ll tell Chase…all this.”

“Thanks.”

The call ended. Immediately, her phone started ringing again, this time with a familiar number. Stacy sighed, then picked up. “What is it, Chase?”
.............................................................................................

Halfway across the city, in a small apartment above a shop, a magician was looking for a flashlight in a dark bedroom. Yvonne silently cursed the strange power outage. She’d use her magic to light up her surroundings, but she needed to save it. After a bit of fumbling in a drawer, she found it. “Aha! Torch!” She flicked it on. “Let there be light.” Chuckling, she left the room and headed into the living room.

Marvin was sitting on her sofa. It wasn’t a sight she ever expected to see again, but here he was. He looked a bit distant, and had bandages wrapped around the cut on his throat, but was otherwise alright…and alive.

“Alright, here we are.” Yvonne shined the flashlight around the room, briefly flicking a nearby lamp switch to see if anything had changed. Nope. The power was still out. “How are you doing, Marv?”

“Hmm?” Marvin looked up at her.

“How are you doing?” Yvonne repeated. “Like…good, bad, whatever. You know? How do you feel?”

Marvin blinked. “I feel…we’re…not…where’s the other one?”

“Still don’t know what you’re talking about,” Yvonne muttered. “But look, I found something for you.” She crossed the room, making sure she didn’t trip over anything in the dark, until she was standing in front of Marvin. “Look! This thing!” She held up the object she’d found in her closet.

Marvin’s reaction was delayed a bit, but once it registered, he gasped. “Oh!” He reached out and took the mask from Yvonne. It was white, a few designs painted on the surface, most notably the four card suits arranged in a diamond on the forehead. He traced the outline of it, running his fingers over the ceramic. “This…this is mine. Just mine.”

“Yeah, it’s yours.” Yvonne cleared her throat awkwardly. “I’m uh…sorry I could never give it back.”

“Back…?” Marvin turned the mask over, now playing with the black ribbons that would hold the mask on his face. “I…gave it to you. You wanted…to copy it?”

“No, not exactly. I just…well you know, magically-enhanced ceramic, hard to come by. I always said it was an accident waiting to happen, if a spell backfired it could do some serious damage to your face, but you were so confident in the spell, that I just…had to see…” Yvonne trailed off. “Of course, while you were here dropping it off, I…did you…copy a spell from one of my books?”

“Mmm…” Marvin’s eyes clouded over, losing focus. “Spell, spell…spell on loose paper…spells in type…lots of spells…”

Yvonne sighed. “Never mind. Let’s just get this started.” She backed up, rounding around a coffee table, putting the flashlight down on its surface. There was a peculiar looking instrument on the table. It was mainly a giant lens, its diameter larger than a basketball. “Stay still, okay?” Yvonne said, positioning the lens so it was facing Marvin.

He nodded vaguely, still running his hands over the mask, holding it to his chest. “Just mine…” he said, voice barely audible. “Not the other one…not the…”

“It’s your mask, yes,” Yvonne said absentmindedly. She ran her hands along the edge of the lens, the silver frame holding it becoming alight with blue and hints of yellow. As she did so, she stifled a yawn. She’d been up all night, trying to figure out what the deal was with Marvin. The Soul Lens had only occurred to her a few minutes ago. She began chanting some words, causing the Soul Lens to start glowing with white light. Trails of blue and yellow magic dripped over the glass, swirling iridescently like the surface of a bubble. Until it suddenly cleared. Yvonne bent over, peering through the Lens.

Through the Lens, everything had lost its color, being seen in shades of gray. The room was still dark, except for a light coming from Marvin. She stared intently at it, eyes wide. After a few silent moments, the Lens powered down, and she straightened, shaking her head. “Marvin…” she said in a hushed tone. “I was right. Your soul is broken.” That was the only word she could think to describe the fragmented way the light had appeared. Also, the Lens couldn’t show it, but she’d detected something…foreign…when she’d first sensed his soul. “What the fuck were you doing?”

Marvin didn’t answer, closing his eyes and leaning back against the sofa.

“Jesus…” Yvonne shook her head in disbelief. This was way, way beyond her knowledge. What was she supposed to do next? She couldn’t go to ABIM, they didn’t trust her and she didn’t trust them. Was it possible there was something in her storage that could help?

She was so lost in thought that it took her a moment to realize there was something glowing outside her window.

Marvin noticed it first, sitting up straight and twisting his head to the side to look at it. He gasped, and started to laugh.

“Marvin, what—WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!” Yvonne ran over to the window. For a second, her first insane thought was that magic worms were trying to get inside. But no, as she got closer she realized it was string. Green glowing string, cut into various sizes, none longer than her forearm. They were wiggling as if alive, trying to squirm their way through the window seam. “No! No, out!” Yvonne double-checked the lock on the window, looking back at Marvin. “Is this your fault?! What is this?!”

Marvin grinned. “It’s me! Us? All. Shards, missing missing, put together, held together.”

“What the actual criss-cross applesauce HELL does that mean?!” Yvonne looked back at the window. The green glowing strings were bunching together. As she watched, some of them formed into…a hand. “No!” She slammed her hands down on the windowsill, eyes flaring sky blue. A shockwave of blue and yellow magic burst outward, sending the green strings flying into the distance. They disappeared into the sky, and Yvonne took a moment to catch her breath. “Impressive Sending there,” she muttered. “Must’ve pushed them at least a few blocks away…”

Marvin seemed to slump a bit, somehow disappointed. He closed his eyes again. “It’s nothing, nothing…I-I…we need…it’s not…fair…”

Yvonne sighed, running a hand through her colored hair. “Well, life’s not fair.” She turned back around. “What do you need, Marv? What do you want? What can…what can I do?”

“Need…” Marvin opened his eyes. They flickered green. “Need…the other one. Want? Want…the…t̢̧h͠e͢m.”

There was something odd about the way he’d said that. “Who’s them…?” Yvonne asked hesitantly.

Marvin grinned. “The puppets.”
.............................................................................................

“I’ll text you the number, okay? For now, it seems like I really need to get home, since apparently you left the kids home alone with some strangers.”

“Sorry,” Chase muttered. God, he couldn’t do anything right, could he?

Stacy’s voice softened. “I’ll call you later.” And without further ado, she hung up.

Chase sighed, setting the phone down. This day had been a lot to process. And it was barely eight o’clock.

Jack reappeared in the living room. He smiled at Chase. “Hey, dude. I brought you some chips.” The smile quickly faded. “What’s wrong?”

Chase looked over at him. “Get everyone else in here. There have been some…complications.”

Part Three of the Switch AU
A JSE Fanfic
[This is part of an ongoing fic series I started in April 2019. Strange things are happening to the group, first to Marvin and then Jackie. What—or who—is behind this?]
.............................................................................................

JJ closed the front door behind him, immediately leaning against it and closing his eyes. Home again, home again. He’d been out most of the day, and he hated it. Sure, days like these were necessary, arranging shows and venues and meeting with various stage managers and agents, but they drained his energy quickly. Not to mention matters had been complicated when he originally left without a jacket since it was unusually warm when he left, and then a cold front had moved in and made everything worse by the time he’d driven home in the evening. And now, he really just wanted to take a nap.

“Marvin? I’m home.” What had been intended to be a call turned into a semi-loud awkward squeak. JJ cleared his throat and tried again. “Marvin? I’m home!”

No answer. That was…odd. The walls of the town house were not thick; even if Marvin was on the second floor, he should’ve at least been able to hear his voice, if not his words. JJ frowned. “Hey Marvin? Are you—well, I don’t know what you’d be doing that would be loud enough to not hear me. Unless you’ve finally stolen my headphones.”

He poked his head into the living room, which was where Marvin was usually sitting, in his claimed chair next to the fireplace. But it was empty. So were the kitchen and the dining room. He couldn’t have gone to bed already, could he? JJ decided it would be best to check. He climbed up the narrow stairs to the second floor, which was where the two bedrooms and the study were located.

The door to Marvin’s room was slightly ajar. JJ knocked on it anyway. “Marv? You’re in there, right?” There wasn’t even a “go away” in response. Now fully concerned, JJ pushed open the door wide enough to look inside. The room was dark, but from what he could see, there wasn’t any lump on the bed that would indicate Marvin might be asleep. So, JJ eased the door open further and flipped on the light switch by the door.

Marvin’s room was empty. And it looked fairly normal. Bed sloppily made, a stack of books on the desk in the corner. But there was one thing odd. Marvin’s jacket was on the floor.

JJ stared at it for a moment. Marvin never took off his jacket. Or, he did, but only when he was having his version of a lazy day. And when he took it off, he always hung it up in a closet or on a coat rack. In fact, JJ couldn’t remember ever seeing any of Marvin’s clothes just lying on the floor. The sight was setting off tiny alarm bells in his head.

Something must have happened. But what? And where was Marvin? If he’d gone somewhere, he would’ve left a note. Jameson darted into the room and picked up the jacket. There was one way to tell where Marvin had gone. Jameson closed his eyes and muttered something under his breath. “Vrite ai’ftó pa gráf tikye edu.” When he opened his eyes again, they briefly flashed a brighter blue before fading back to their normal shade. And now he could see a faint trail of blue, mixed with strands of green, leading out the door and down the hall.

Holding the jacket close, Jameson followed the trail back downstairs and out the front door. If the tracking spell was to be believed, that meant Marvin was outside, when it was dusk, and in the cold. In fact, JJ could see small flakes falling through the window. Marvin was outside, in the dark, when it was snowing, in a city he had admitted several times he still wasn’t entirely sure how to navigate on his own. Biting back the rising surge of fear, Jameson grabbed his coat and ran out the front door. The trail continued through the streets of the city, visible only to his eyes. Hopefully Marvin hadn’t gone far. And hopefully, he’d left for a harmless reason.

No such luck on the first frontier. It was a long walk, following the trail, and Jameson was starting to go beyond worry and into panic. By now, the trail had led him into one of the more run-down sections of the city, mainly composed of shabby apartment buildings. Jameson kept looking over his shoulder for trouble. But the trail was getting steadily brighter, more green entwined with the blue. That meant he was getting close.

The trail was mostly green by the time JJ rounded a corner and saw him. Marvin was sitting cross-legged on the sidewalk, leaning against the graffitied wall of one of the buildings. He was wearing his green vest over a white dress shirt, but even with the double layers and long sleeves, he was shivering slightly. His cane was on the ground some ways away, out of arm’s reach.

“Marvin!” JJ shouted, running the rest of the way. “Marvin, what on earth are you doing out here? It’s dark and cold and—and dangerous! You better have a good reason.”

Marvin didn’t answer. Didn’t even look up by the time JJ was standing next to him. He just kept facing ahead, staring at nothing.

“Are…are you okay?” JJ knelt on the sidewalk next to him. “Hello? Earth to Marvin?” He waved his hand over Marvin’s glassy eyes, with no response. “Are…are you cold or anything? I brought your jacket. Well, I had to, the spell doesn’t work without something belonging to the seeked. Here.” He draped the jacket over Marvin’s shoulders, but still got nothing. After a moment of slight hesitation, JJ pressed his finger to Marvin’s neck. His pulse was steady. So what was wrong? Was this some side effect of being out in the cold for too long? He didn’t know, he wasn’t a doctor.

A doctor! Jameson reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He opened his contacts list and typed out a quick message. He wasn’t sure how long it would be before Jackie checked his texts, but it better be soon. He put the phone back in his pocket, then reached forward and shook Marvin gently. “Marv. Please. Y-you’re starting to scare me.”

He blinked. Once, and slowly, but it was something. Jameson exhaled slowly. “I-I know you’re in there. Just—just say something? Please?” Apparently the blink was all Marvin had planned to do. Jameson swallowed a whimper. This was scary. He didn’t know what was happening, if Marvin could hear him, or what he could do about it. Maybe—maybe if he shocked Marvin enough, he’d snap out of it? How?

After a moment more of thought, Jameson decided on something. He wasn’t super skilled at these types of spells, but it would work in this chilly environment. “Ignesa,” he whispered, pushing his magic out through the words into a shape it wasn’t used to being in. His hands, holding Marvin’s upper arms, burst into blue flame that didn’t burn, but still felt close to hot enough to.

There was a sharp yell, and JJ found he was being pushed away. “Wh-what the hell, Jems?!” Marvin, eyes no longer glassy, was furiously rubbing his arms where the fire had touched. “I t’ought you did water tricks!”

“Marvin!” JJ lunged forward and wrapped him in a tight squeeze. “I was so worried!”

“W-worried? ‘Bout what?” After a moment, Marvin pulled away, looking up and down the city street. “Where…where are we?”

“According to the last street sign I passed, we’re on Somerset Road. This…isn’t exactly the best part of town, Marv. What are you doing out here?”

“I…I don’t know.” The confusion on Marvin’s face was mixing with a tinge of fear. “I was goin’ to take a nap, wait for you t’come home. But then…I don’ know. Me head went all fuzzy, and I…left. Why did I leave?” He looked around once more. “I r’member walkin’, but I don’ r’member how I got here.”

JJ didn’t know how to respond, but he didn’t have to. The phone in his pocket buzzed, and he hurriedly pulled it out. Jackie had replied, "What do you mean somethings wrong with marvin? Where are you? What happened?"

“Hang on a second, I texted Jackie about this, I need to explain what happened,” JJ said, already typing.

“Texted him ‘bout what?” Marvin was trying hard to hide the frantic note in his voice.

JJ looked up. “Marvin. When I got here, you were sitting on the ground, like you are now, and you weren’t responding when I asked you to. You were shivering, but you had a steady pulse, but you didn’t seem quite…here.”

Marvin blinked. “I…I sorta r’member you gettin’ here, tryin’ t’talk to me. But…I couldn’…it was like I wasn’ in my body…” He shivered, and pulled the jacket closer. “’s cold.”

“I know it is,” JJ said reassuringly. “If you want, I can give you my coat? You’ve been out here longer.”

“No, ‘m…’m fine.”

And that was the sign JJ needed. He finished the text to Jackie, then pulled off his coat and gave it to Marvin, who didn’t say anything and just let him wrap it around him. “Alright. We’re going to go home now. I walked here, do you think you can walk back?”

Marvin nodded quietly, and let himself be pulled to his feet. JJ picked up the cane from where it had fallen on the ground and handed it to him. As the two of them started walking, JJ’s phone buzzed again, and he checked the new message from Jackie. “Huh. He says you might have been dissociating.”

“I don’…know what t’at means,” Marvin admitted.

“It means…well, it’s like what you said, actually. It’s when you feel you’re not entirely connected to something, and that can be a task, the world around you, or even your own body. I think in extreme cases, the world can seem a bit…ah, what’s a good word? Out of sorts? Like an illusion? Distorted? Or—”

Marvin suddenly grabbed Jameson’s arm, looking at him with wide eyes. “I saw a man who cried red.”

Jameson could only stare. “Marvin? What—what does that mean?”

“I don’ know,” Marvin said, eyes still unusually wide. “But I just—I saw somet’ing like that. I just r’membered, and t’at…was the best way I could say it.”

“That’s…a bit concerning,” JJ said slowly. “Do you…want me to tell someone about that?”

“No!” Marvin suddenly shrieked. Then he looked around, and said in a normal voice, “No. I don’ know why but it—it’s a bad idea. I know it.”

JJ sighed. “Alright, if you insist. But if it happens again, you might want to consider—” He stopped.

“…Jems?” Marvin said cautiously.

“I don’t feel good,” Jameson whispered. Suddenly, he could feel his heart racing in his chest, pounding so hard he could feel it in his throat. Despite being in the snow fall without a coat, he was hot. And he couldn’t breathe. He was trying, but every effort was reduced to short gasps.

“Jameson!” Marvin yelled. “What’s happenin’?! Tell me!”

“I don’t—I-I don’t—” His legs were trembling. He stumbled, ending up falling against Marvin, who stumbled in turn but managed to hold him. “I-I-I—” Talking was hard, there wasn’t enough air in his lungs to fuel it, so he focused on breathing. Hyperventilating, more like, everything becoming a wheeze. Tears were prickling at his eyes.

“Jameson, you have t’breathe!” Marvin said. “D’you want me to sit you down?” He looked around. “I-I—somet’ing’s wrong, Jems. I-I feel…like…” He couldn’t finish the sentence. “There’s someone…”

BANG!

The sound was enough to startle Marvin off balance, and both he and Jameson toppled to the ground. Marvin flipped his cane in his hand into a defensive position, covering Jameson with it while still holding him. His eyes darted around, landing on a silhouette. He glared in its general direction. “Stay back!” He growled.

The silhouette stepped forward into the flickering light of a street lamp. “Really? That’s your plan? What were you gonna do against this thing?” He shook the handgun he was holding in Marvin’s direction.

Marvin relaxed, but only slightly. “You, huh? What’re you doin’ here?”

“I live here,” Anti said, walking forward. “What are you doing here?”

“…I don’ know,” Marvin grumbled. He was getting tired of saying that.

Anti sighed. “Whatever. What’s up with your friend, there?”

“I-I-I’m fine,” Jameson wheezed. “I’m f-fine, just—I think I had a-a-an anxiety attack.”

“Actually, that would be a panic attack if it came on quickly, which I’m guessing it did.” Anti pulled open his jacket, holstering the handgun in the shoulder holster hidden underneath. “And I don’t blame you. That guy looked freaky.”

“Wh-what guy?” JJ asked, looking up.

“The…the guy that was standing right in front of you?” Anti asked, raising an eyebrow. “Okay, not right in front of you, but pretty close. He scurried away after I fired.”

“You shot somebody?” Marvin asked incredulously.

“No, I shot at somebody. Huge difference.” Anti laughed. “But yeah, he’s gone now. Neither of you noticed him?”

Marvin slowly shook his head.

“Bit-bit more important th-things going on,” Jameson gasped, pulling away from Marvin.

“Uhh…yeah, what-fucking-ever. You two are the blindest bitches I’ve ever met.” Anti rolled his mismatched eyes.

Marvin scowled, using the cane to push himself to his feet and pulling JJ up after him. “So…what did he look like? T’is man y’saw.”

“He looked…” Anti trailed off. He looked up into the sky. “Um. He looked…I dunno, like a guy. Skinny. He had a…a hat, I think?”

“Brilliant,” Marvin drawled.

“Shut up, it was dark.”

“W-well…” JJ took a deep breath, finally getting his breathing back to normal. “Thank you for getting rid of him, I guess.”

“Sure.” Anti stuck his hands in his pockets, looking back at the two of them. “So, do I need to text Jackie back and tell him you’re alright or are you gonna do that yourself?”

“He texted you?” JJ asked.

“Yeah, he was freaking out, apparently something was wrong and, y’know, I live in the area, so.” Anti shrugged.

JJ looked around. “You live…here?” The brick buildings were dirty, there was trash in the streets, and the installed street lamps were either broken or breaking.

“Yes. And you’re not gonna see where exactly, so don’t ask.” Anti glared at Jameson, who didn’t look away. “Should I text him?”

“I’ll do it,” JJ assured him. “You can go back home if you’d like, we’re just going to walk back. And again, thank you.”

“…yeah, uh. Yeah. No problem.” Anti backed away. “You two stay safe, okay?” And without a goodbye, he turned and walked back down the street.

Marvin stared after him, eyes narrow. “I t’ought you said guns were ‘gainst the law.”

“They are, but…maybe he has a good reason. Let’s not jump to conclusions.” JJ had his phone out, already texting Jackie like he said. “You’re still good to walk?”

“Yep. Let’s go.”

“Alright. But,” JJ looked up, “once we’re home, we need to talk about what happened in more detail. Promise?”

Marvin hesitated, then nodded. “I promise. Now, let’s go.”

As they started on the way back home, Marvin glanced over his shoulder once more. Why did it feel like they were being watched?
.............................................................................................

It was a week later, and Jackie was just wrapping up his shift at the hospital. His mind was on the incident. He’d barely gotten home after spending a night with Rama, and he checked the messages he missed to see one from Jameson, saying there was an emergency and something was wrong with Marvin. The next few minutes had been a storm of worry. He wasn’t about to let someone get hurt! Especially not a new friend! Luckily, it had all worked out, though Marvin and Jameson were being strangely secretive about the whole thing. Maybe they just wanted to move on from it.

“Hey, Parker.”

Jackie looked up from the clipboard of paperwork he was supposed to be filling out to see Dr. Green, one of his colleagues, peeking out from around the corner of the hall. “Yeah?” he asked. “I’m almost off shift, is it an emergency?”

“There’s a patient in 234-C who wants to see you,” Green explained.

Jackie frowned. He wasn’t attending anyone in a room 234. But the C designation meant the children’s ward, which he was the assistant head of. So maybe the patient just wanted to see someone high up. Surprisingly, not the first time that’s happened. “Alright,” he said, putting the clipboard and pen down on the nearest flat surface. “Hey, if a guy comes in who looks basically exactly like me, but with shorter hair, no glasses, and probably wearing a sweater, tell him where I am, okay?”

“Will do. Your brother?”

Jackie huffed, hiding a small smile. “Surprisingly, no. But he might as well be at this point. His name’s Henrik, I’m planning on seeing a movie with him after my shift. Tell him where I am, and, uh, don’t try to stop him if he attempts to get past you and into the hospital. It’ll just waste everyone’s time since he can get past you anyway.”

“Jeez. Well, alright.” Green waved at Jackie as he walked past. “Remember, 234-C!”

“I got it, dude!”

The rooms in the children’s ward were smaller, but painted more colorfully than the plain white of the other wards. And the kids who unfortunately had to stay there usually had their own rooms, with the option of asking for a roommate (and a bigger room) if they got lonely. The nurse at the nursing station greeted him familiarly as he took the elevator from the ground floor to the next floor up. 234 was one of the outer rooms, situated near the back of the building.

Jackie entered, his first glance going to the bed. Which was, to his surprise, empty. He glanced around the room. There wasn’t a kid in here. But there was a man, standing at the window. Actually, leaning out of the window. And that shouldn’t be possible. All the wards of the hospital had windows that could slide open, but they also had screens in place to keep anyone from reaching out. Just in case. “Uh, hello?” Jackie asked.

The man turned around. He was wearing gray all over. Shirt, pants, trainers, cap, basically all gray. Even his skin and hair seemed to have a grayish tint, obviously not healthy. Jackie tried to catch the man’s eye, but…his face kept slipping away. It was a bit…odd. Maybe he was tired after his shift? God, he hoped that wasn’t the case. He didn’t want to fall asleep in the theater.

“Hello!” The man said, grinning. “You’re one of the doctors here?”

“Uh, yeah, I’m Dr. Parker. Most people just call me Jackie, though.” Jackie shifted his weight. “You didn’t…ask for me, did you?”

“Actually, I did. I know I don’t know you, but I overheard some of the patients talking about how nice you are.”

“So…you’re not actually a patient here?” Jackie laughed quietly. “I mean, of course you’re not here, this is the kids’ ward. Which is…kinda confusing about why you’re in this room, specifically.”

“I like kids,” the man said simply. “They’re nice. Cute. Little bundles of happiness.” He backed up a bit, leaning backwards out the open window.

“Whoa, hey.” Jackie took a few steps forward into the room. “Be careful. You could fall.”

“So? It’s not high enough to kill me.”

“Yeah, but you could still get hurt!” Jackie took another step forward. The man wasn’t leaning out any more, but he wasn’t showing any sign of getting entirely back inside either. “Maybe even permanently, if you’re unlucky enough.”

“Good to know.”

Jackie didn’t know what to do. This guy didn’t really sound overly concerned with the threat of injury. Maybe it was time to change the subject. “Well. Anyway…” he said tentatively. “You…wanted to talk to me? Why?”

“Oh yes.” The man smiled. “Like I said, I heard you’re really nice. Everyone here seems to love you. Except a few of the staff who are upset that you’re not ‘professional.’ I dunno what they’re talking about. I like how you dress.”

“Uh, thanks.”

The man stopped leaning out the window, and Jackie breathed a sigh of relief. Which turned out to be short-lived, as the man then hopped up onto the window sill, sitting on a precarious balance between inside and outside.

“What are you doing?!” Jackie half-ran towards the window, quickly closing the distance between him and the man, until he was within arm’s length. “Are you crazy?! Did you lose your mind?!”

“/I lost it long ago./”

“Wh-what?” Something had been…off about the man’s voice that time. It was like…Jackie couldn’t quite grasp it, as the tone and pitch slipped out of his mind. In fact…he didn’t remember what the man’s voice sounded like at all. Even though he’d been just listening to him talk. “What did you say?”

“/It’s not important./” The man shrugged. “/But I still haven’t answered your question!/ Why did I want to talk to you? /Well./” The man grabbed the edges of the window, leaning even farther back. Jackie half-reached out, afraid he might fall if he tried to grab him. “/I’ve been really lonely. /Anyone I talk to eventually goes away, you know. /Even after I try to make new friends. /And I’m thinking that maybe nobody cares to stay for long./ But then I started hanging out here! /And Jackie, you sounded perfect!/ You’re so kind, and persistent, and actually, really care./ And you’re able to befriend anyone./ Even someone who clearly doesn’t trust you with anything, not even his real name./”

Jackie wondered for a brief second how this guy knew about his friends, especially Anti, who didn’t come around the hospital too much. But the thought slipped away, not quite registering enough to cause alarm. “Thanks, I guess. And I’m sorry you’re…you’re going through this. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“/I thought you’d never ask!/” The man smiled. Or…had he always had that grin? “/And yeah, there is something you can do./ I want you to be my friend, Jackie. /You seem cool./”

“You want to be friends?” Jackie blinked. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion, even his thoughts. “But…I don’t know you that well.”

“/We can get to know each other. /Or I could, you know…/” He leaned backwards and let go of the window. Just for a split second before latching on again, but that split second had been enough for him to quite nearly fall out of the window.

“No!” Jackie had lunged forward the moment the man let go, only to stop short when he realized he was okay. Fuck this, he couldn’t have someone get hurt if he could do anything about it. “Don’t do that, you’re right. We can, like, hang out or something. I’m sure we can become friends quickly.”

The man’s smile widened, and he righted himself into a sitting position. Jackie realized he was standing a lot closer to him that he had been just a second ago. But he couldn’t find the thought to take a step back. “/That’s great! Jackie, you have no idea how happy I am to hear that./” He grabbed the front of Jackie’s hoodie. Jackie registered this fact dully, and wasn’t able to find a reason to care about it. “/We can start now./”

“I…I think I had plans,” Jackie mumbled.

“/Really?/ What? /Can you tell me?/”

Jackie scanned his mind, but he didn’t find anything. Just…gray fog. “I can’t remember. Guess it wasn’t that important. I feel kinda…fuzzy.”

“/That’s okay, we all do sometimes./ It’ll go away./”

“Really?”

“/No. /But it’ll get less. /And you can still come with me./”

“I…I can?”

“/Uh-huh./ C’mon/.”

He was leaning backwards again. Wasn’t there something wrong with that? Jackie couldn’t remember. But he was still holding onto him by the front of the hoodie, so as he leaned, Jackie leaned with him—

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

Jackie jerked backwards. He knew that voice! That was an important voice! Then he was jerked forward again as the man pulled, and all of a sudden there was a hand there, prying at the man’s fingers until Jackie’s hoodie slipped away. The man vanished backwards, and Jackie was yanked away.

“Jackie! Jackie, you fucking moron, look at me!”

Someone slapped him. That cleared up a lot of the fog, but Jackie still had to shake his head a bit and blink several times to get rid of it completely. He looked at who hit him. “Vol—sorry, I mean Henrik? What’s going on?”

Schneep was staring intently at Jackie. He was wearing a gray sweater with a blue scarf, one of his favorite outfits for when he wasn’t busy vigilante-ing. “What’s going on?” he repeated. “What’s going on?!”

“Yes, that’s what I—don’t do that again!” Jackie caught Schneep’s hand by the wrist just before the hand made contact with his still-stinging face. “I came in here…because there was a patient who wanted to see me, but there’s no kid in this room, it was just a guy, and he was at the window, and I thought he was gonna jump—” His eyes widened, and he spun around. The man wasn’t in the window anymore. “Shit, he fell! He really fell! Oh my god!”

Jackie started forward, ready to look out the window at the damage, but Schneep caught him and held him back. “That was no ‘guy!’”

“Oh yeah? What else could it be?”

“I do not know!” Schneep yelled. “A fucking monster!”

“A fucking what?” Jackie asked, bewildered.

“A monster, Jackie!” Schneep grabbed his friend by the shoulders, staring him in the face. “That thing had—had black blood eyes, and sharp dead nails, and it was smiling too much for being about to fall!”

“What?!” Jackie wrenched out of Schneep’s grip and took a few steps back. “No no no, you’re gonna have to explain more.”

Schneep took a few deep breaths, before continuing on, calmer now. “It was very gray, you see. And it looked like the shape of a man, but then it had sharp nails, and its arms looked dead, black from the elbow down! And its eyes were black, too, completely black! And they were bleeding! And the smile! Jackie, it was too happy that it was about to pull you out of the window.”

Jackie stared at him for a moment more. “Schneep. Henrik. Volt. Are you off your meds?”

“No, I am not!” Schneep insisted. “I still have the compartment thing you sent me, I use it.”

“Are you sure?” Jackie asked gently.

Schneep threw his arms into the air. “Fine! Check down there, out the window! See for yourself!”

“Thank you.” Jackie turned and strode over to the window. After a moment of hesitation, he peered downwards, only to receive a shock. “There’s…nobody there.” The pavement outside the window was empty, except for a red stain that wasn’t there before. A small splatter that, he estimated, was what it might look like if someone hit their head on the pavement too hard. But if someone did do that, then they wouldn’t be able to just walk away. He turned to look at Schneep. “There’s…no way someone wouldn’t still be there.”

“I am telling you, it was not a someone, it was a creature,” Schneep insisted. “I…I don’t remember much about it aside from what I have already told you. It was like a…I do not remember the word, the sort of-of fake seeing?”

“Illusion?”

“No, well yes, but I am thinking specifics. I think it has to do with deserts.”

“Mirage?”

“Yes!” Schneep said triumphantly. “But what I told you, that was very real. It is the details I do not remember.”

“I mean…” Jackie looked back out the window. “Maybe…” He recalled the man’s voice. Or rather, he tried to, and failed to remember anything beyond the words said. There was a sort of vague sense of tone, but not much else. And he couldn’t picture the man’s face, either. And the way his head had suddenly gone fuzzy, full of gray fog… “We can talk more about this later,” he said, sliding the window shut. “We’re gonna be late for the movie, probably.”

“Oh yes!” Schneep’s eyes lit up. “I forgot! Are you excited?”

Jackie chuckled. “A little. But hey, it’s gonna be with you, so it’s definitely gonna be exciting.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean,” Jackie grinned. “I just need to officially clock out and drop my coat off in the office, then we can go.”

“I will walk you there, of course,” Schneep said matter-of-factly.

“Thanks, Volt. I’d appreciate it. I feel a little…” Jackie glanced back at the window. “…uneasy, all of a sudden.”
.............................................................................................

Night fell on the city eventually. And someone was sitting on the rooftop of a run-down home in the suburbs. His legs were hanging off the edge, swinging. People wouldn’t see him. Nobody ever came close to this house, and even if they did, they would forget all about him the moment they looked away.

He was smiling. He always was, but this one was real.

He’d almost got two in a week. That was a good record. Sure, two others had come in and ruined everything, and there was that third one he didn’t know what to do with, but you had to look on the bright side! You had to keep smiling. And the ideas he was getting were more than enough reason to smile.