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?]
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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?
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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.”
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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.