In the deepest depths of Flint’s crime-ridden outskirts, at the edge of the highest kill count town, Jack and Eric have arrived at the entrance of their old neighbourhood. The two were hesitant to enter at first out of precaution, Adequately, they decided to scope the area out first. Both men clutched their weapons and hurried into the neighbourhood to the nearest home. Jack slammed himself against the wood wall of a home. He peeks over the corner and sees that the streets were empty too, just like the town.
The sense of his anxiety bursted back into his screwed up mind. “Fuck, it seems like our area’s probably after us too.”
Eric arrived shortly after, casually walking behind Jac., “Is the coast clear, you big pussy?”
Jack looks around again and makes sure. He nods to his uncle and the two walk into the empty misty street. Even though they were familiar with the area they couldn’t help but feel extremely creeped out by the entire ordeal. Normally there would be people hanging outside their homes or yards, but the fact that no one’s outside made the situation really nerve racking. Just walking through the cracked damaged roads, uncut lawns, and dying dried walls of homes was very eerie. It made the pores on their skin swell and feel cold. At any given moment they could get ambushed, attacked, or get called out on sight. Especially Jack who’s a walking pedestal of guaranteed fortune and sovereignty.
Eric, being the only one armed with a gun, saw his home a block away, raised the gun, aiming it forward. “I really don’t like this shit man. Spooky ass fuck, my guy.”
Jack swallows, and raises his crowbar. “Yeah, no kidding.”
Getting closer to the house, they heard the sound of a vehicle incoming from the screeching tires echoing off in the distance. Quickly they hid behind a nearby tree to stay out of sight. When they peeked out from behind they couldn’t believe their eyes. It was the same yellow truck that dragged Jack from earlier, and made Jack get back into cover out of fear.
They stayed hidden to let it pass by as it scouted the area. The truck drove in circles, this time there were only two men inside, scanning the area with their cold blue eyes. Both questioned how these people found out the location of their neighbourhood. Jack’s quivering in anger. He wanted revenge on those who injured him this badly and led him to almost certain death.
Eric grabbed his shoulder to ease his anger. “Relax my guy. Save your energy, you’ll get your revenge, but it ain’t worth it for now.”
Jack smacks his lips and cools down. “You’re right, damn. But I’m still burning here man, backs fucking killing me.”
“I know, just chill for now. As I said, you can get revenge on them when the opportunity comes.”
Eric checks the gun's ammo, and it’s not looking good.
Damn. I ain’t got much left, gotta preserve whatever we have left in this thing.
The beat up truck parked for a moment and the two stepped out. One had a shotgun and the other a handgun. Jack’s breathing grew frantic and Eric clenched the grip of the handgun. The one holding the shotgun was a big guy with a flannel and torn jeans, the other a tallish skinny guy with greasy long hair wearing typical ranch attire. The big guy raised his gun and shot the air, making both men hide and squint their faces. The tall guy scoped the area with his cold eyes and spat. His murderous greedy gaze scanned the enitre area, his cold blue eyes were dimmed and glinted.
I-I could sense his feelings… they’re petrifying. Jack could feel his lust for murder, eagerly wanting to spot the young man and claim the prize.
Someone nearby heard the gunshot and came out of their home. “Ey, who the fuck is—?” He was shot immediately and fell back dead.
The one who fired and took his life was the tall man. With his gun raised forward, he lowered his arm and jolted his head to signal his partner to get back into the truck. He did what he was signalled to do and the tall man walked back into his truck after. Jack couldn’t believe his eyes, seeing him murder a innocent person without hesitation made him more afraid of the two. Yet Jack questioned himself if that’s how everyone else viewed him. Eric wanted to shoot them dead on the spot but he’s shaking too much and didn’t have hope in his aim in this state. The two scanned the area one last time and finally drove off.
The truck drove away in a hurry and both men deeply sighed. Eric quickly ran to the deceased individual and shook his head. Jack ran into the street to see if the truck was truly gone from their view sight. It disappeared into the mistiness and brought relief into the young man. Jack walked to the home of where the person was shot and saw his uncle check the person's pulse and belongings.
Eric examined the man's personal wallet. He was an old black man and had a big family in Detroit from a photo pinned onto the wallet. “Fuck man, what has this world come to…”
“Eric, we’ve gotta go. There’s nothing much we can do.” said Jack as he stood at the front yard with a distraught face.
Eric quickly went inside to find a blanket and he found one on the man's couch. He grabbed it and walked back outside, covering the old man's body with it. Eric said a prayer and laid the man's wallet on the top of his covered corpse.
Eric regrouped with Jack and rubbed his face. “He was a beloved grandpa man. He had a whole big family, and to be killed just like that? Goddamn, it’s our—”
Jack patted his uncle's giant shoulder and looked into his eyes. “No, Eric. It’s not your fault. It’s my fault; for being alive.” Jack walked forward and didn’t look back.
Eric jutted forward but wanted to look back one last time. He shook his head in sadness. “Damn it Jack.”
Eric walked and as he was catching up to Jack, he saw his nephew clutch the crowbar intensely. He could feel just how angry Jack is not only with himself, but at the people recklessly trying to take away his life and risking anyone else that gets in their way of an opportunity at fortune.
Jack and Eric continued walking house by house without saying a word and finally, they reached their home. They both stood at the bottom steps and looked up at it. The small brick structure had greenery overgrowing it but it appeared that no one’s walked up these steps ever since they left. The two walked up the steps and laid their eyes on Eric’s home that was unscathed and not broken into. It brightens their mood a bit knowing that the people in their neighbourhood didn’t vandalise their home even if Jack’s a high value target plastered all over the local news.
Eric takes a moment to bask in the scenery. “Home sweet home. Heh, how I miss the old times.” Eric took a step forward on the overgrown passage leading to his front patio. “Come on fool, we don’t have all day.”
Jack grins, “Yeah, you’re right. Let's get what I need and get the hell out of here once and for all.” Jack followed his uncle and the two made their way to his front door.
Eric takes out the key to the house and inserts it into the lock. “You ready?”
Jack nods, “Yeah…” and he flung his crowbar lightly. “Gonna need this if anything might have a surprise for me.”
Eric looks at him with a raised brow. “You know this is my home right?”
“What? You never know?”
Eric turns the key and gently opens the door. The door creaks loudly, dust particles floated around, the two get a whiff of nostalgia to their noses. Jack walks in first to make sure the house was actually empty by coughing loudly.
“Just making sure, just, making sure…” Jack still felt worried and stayed on edge.
Eric pats Jack’s shoulder and walks past him. “I don’t blame you for being so on edge, my guy. I’m going to check the garage and my car, aight.”
Jack nodded and wandered off. The young man checks the basement first and turns the light on. When the light came on he had his crowbar raised over his head, but thankfully there’s nothing but old momentos and furniture. He sighs with relief and walks up the steps to search the kitchen. He closed the basement door and walked into the kitchen, finding it empty and dirty. Walking in, his mind flashed a scene of his dear sister Angela washing the dishes with Randolph. The two laughed and conversed while an afterimage of Jack walked past him and sat on the table. His sister’s laughter echoed ghostly and she quickly turned around and jumped onto her brother.
“Angela…” The scene fades and the dust returns to smother the kitchen's atmosphere once again. “What has my life come to?”
Eric’s in the garage and was scavenging for anything else they might need once they leave. The first thing that came into mind for the gang leader was to check if there was any ammunition left, he made sure to check every box that matched the same millimetre that the gun shoots in every cabinet or compartment.
“Damn it, Jack might’ve been right. Someone’s been here.” It appeared as if someone took every little bit of leftover ammo from every box, making Jack’s assumption come into a realisation.
Eric made his way to the side door and opened it. Outside beside the garage was his black car and he opened it with his car key. It’s the last place he’ll know if he had any weapons left inside or ammo. Thankfully when he did go inside his car searching, he found his spare gun in the centre console, and spare ammo in the glove department.
“Bingo, that’s what I’m talking about.” He cocks his ten millilitre calibre handgun and sees a bullet in the chamber. “Still loaded, just like always hehe.” It brings out a smile on the big guy.
He grabs the rest of the mags and stuffs his personal handgun behind his jeans.
Jack’s inside his old room and his face grew more worried. He already searched his entire room from the closet to the bottom of his bed and found out that someone definitely went through his belongings. It made him a little angry, but answered his assumption about the house not being clear. There’s one last place he hasn’t checked and that was his desk.
He opened the drawer and found it empty. “Son of a bitch… I really liked that gun too.” He slams his fist on his desk and angrily walks out of his room.
Jack makes his way up the stairs and down the hall to Eric's room. The young man went inside his uncle's room and the first thing that his line of view caught on was Eric's window busted open.
Jack gripped his crowbar and trickled a single drop of sweat. “Someone broke in and took what was ours. How aggravating, but I don’t think we’re alone right now.”
Jack approached the window, raising the crowbar and looked out of it, checking the backyard. It was clear, but the backgate was wide open. Shortly, Jack’s eyes were caught by Randolph’s grave, and it was still intact. That calmed him down a bit, but gave him a sense of sadness momentarily. After having a glimpse of the past, he went back to see if Eric’s things were taken as well. The young man checks all of Eric’s belongings and his stuff is gone too.
“Fuck man, who could’ve done this?” Jack grunts and walks out.
Walking down the dark hallway, Jack’s body came to a halt. Beside him was the daunting past that once filled his sorrowed life with hope. It made him swallow in sadness, clench his fists with self hatred, and trickle a soft gasp. It was his dearest sister's room, Angela’s domain of safety and happiness. Now it’s nothing more than a dormant of the dreaded past, a past in which Jack has been avoiding for the past three years.
Jack could feel his heart beating fast, at the moment he didn’t want to confront this part of the past, not now. “An...gela…”
Jack gulps and takes a deep breath. Reflecting his actions of the past with flashing memories of her purest joy and cooling his self guilt, Jack has made up his mind. He’s ready to confront this past he’s laid dormant, mustering the courage big enough to do so. Jack turns to his left, staring at the wooden door, and he carefully reaches for the door knob. Grabbing the piece of metal, he brought himself to a pause. Somehow, Jack can’t turn the knob, he still feels too guilty about what happened to her, repeatedly blaming himself inside his dark mind.
I-I… I can’t do this, I fucking can’t…
Jack crushed his eyes, grounding his teeth. He thought he could confront it, but it appeared that wasn’t the case. His emotions were battling each other much more unfathomably, an ongoing war that wasn’t slowed since childhood. But Jack had to get that item he wanted to remember Angela by, the final memento for him to carry with him. It’s something that’s been trivling his thoughts, and at this moment, the opportunity to seek a conclusion to it was now.
“Enough of this shit. Fuck my emotions, I gotta get it… do it Jack!”
At last, the barren wasteland of his emotions revealed his courageousness became the clear winner of this battle inside his damned soul. Jack opens the door and allows it to open on its own. The door creaked, creating an echo of hollowness, and revealed the past to the present. The memories of his dear sister flashed before his eyes yet again, this time with her playing her electric piano and whenever he would open her door, she welcomed him with an open mouth smile. This was a normal occurrence back then for Jack, seeing Angela on her electric keyboard playing a song, drawing on her desk, or sitting on her bed watching those cartoons that she loved so much. His sister faded into the dust particles of her room and revealed her precious dusty keyboard broken, lying on the floor.
Jack walks in and looks around. The young man stopped at the side of her bed to drift his hand across her empty bed. Jack sits, stares at the shelf of her figurine collection right across the side of the bed. He frowns and lays on her bed sideways, trying to get a last membrane of lingering warmth. Remembering the old life that they once shared froze Jack in a position of him gazing at her door. The young man's vision turned back time to the night her life was taken away, he had the scene recorded in its entirety.
Jack sat up, and saw that scene being played out. He kicked her door open, had his bleeding sister in his arms with his dead eyes glistening as he ran to her bed, laying her dead corpse on it. Her skin grey, body stiff as a pencil, the last of her blood leaving her body turned his stomach. Jack watched himself scream in agony, and desperately gave her CPR. Watching himself fail over and over again to bring her back to life hurt his pathetic soul and burn it into a cinder. Jack screams in sorrow, clutching his head like a maniac and slamming his fist on her keyboard, breaking it. The scene faded and the young man stroked his hand on his fading dead sister as she turned to nothingness.
Letting out a long breath, Jack gets off the bed and walks up to the shelf of her precious figurines. “This is no time to cry Jack, not now, or better yet, for the best; never.” Jack blows on all of the standing plastic, creating a huge cloud of dust that puffed out to his face.
Jack coughs and waves his hand around. The young man starts packing all the figurines one by one, and as he did, he eventually grabs the one that she compared him to; the one with the black and orange tracksuit.
He stares at it and blows on it. “So? We meet again, old friend?” He places it in his bag, “Like I said before, I’m not like you nor will I ever be like you.”
In repeating the same type of statement brought out a chuckle to Jack. It made him remember that day when he got back his senses and broke out of his depressed trance to then make a rescue operation for his sister. That memory alone brought a small burst of faith to the young man until he heard something rustling in Angela’s closet.
The hell was that?
Jack clutches his crowbar and approaches the closest. He hovers the crowbar over his shoulder and readies himself for anything that’ll potentially harm him. He extends his hand towards the knob and grabs it, but as he’s about to twist the knob to open the door, someone bursted out of the bathroom across from her bedroom, running at him.
Jack heard those loud, heavy footsteps quickly getting to him. “What the…?!” He quickly turns around and a man barges at him, screaming in a laughable sense.
He had a knife and drove it at the young man. Jack scooted backwards and the man swung his knife at the young man, trying to either slash or stab Jack. Jack stumbles his footing, giving the man an opening for him to drive the knife at him. He shoots his knife at Jack. The young man sees it coming and catches the intruder’s hand. They had a small struggle, grunting, groaning, but Jack overpowered him and threw him on the ground.
“How dare you break into my home!” said Jack as he grabs the man's shirt and throws a punch to his face.
A punches him twice on his left cheek and lets go briefly so he can use his crowbar. Jack raises it high to make sure the impact would finish him off. Jack pummels the crowbar but when he becomes inches from landing it on his dome, a woman pops out of Angela’s closet and shoots Jack’s right shoulder.
A small burst of blood went into the air where Jack was shot. “Fuck ahhh!” Jack falls along with a trail of shooting blood, dropping his crowbar in the process.
Jack lays on his stomach, grabbing his shoulder and grinding his teeth in pain. The guy took the opportunity to grab one of Angela’s belts inside her closet and wrapped the piece of long leather around the young man's neck. He pulled on the edges of the belt, grunting, and pressing the leather against Jack’s windpipe. Jack squinted an eye, fought to break free by swinging his left arm. The guy, in an instant wrapped the rest of the leather and started choking Jack. The man hopped onto the young man's back and reeled in his death trap on Jack’s neck. The young man gags horribly, desperately trying to reach for the crowbar.
The woman on the other hand has something else in mind. “I don’t think so.” She got the knife the guy was using and walked up to Jack’s frontal view.
Jack grinded his teeth, groaning loudly for breaths of air. The woman enjoyed this site her eyes were witnessing, it made her smile. She kicked Jack’s reaching hand away and immediately stabbed his arm with all her strength, bringing a stop to its movements.
“Take that you sicko!” she shouted.
Jack screams and she doesn't hesitate to stomp on the knife afterwards to make it go through his forearm, into his bone, and out onto the wooden ground. Jack screams as loud as he could from the pain with his choked voice. He heard his bone crack and felt it split in two. Outside, Eric heard the commotion being created upstairs as he’s checking the perimeter.
“What the fucks up with all that noise?!” Eric wanted to check the entire perimeter now and made his way to the backyard. “Seems like the screaming's coming from behind. Jack, I hope you’re just having another breakdown if not then hang on.”
The guy stops choking Jack and pulls on his hair to make him stare at the woman directly. “Pay attention you bitch ass! Don’t go out on me now!”
She walks in front of Jack and looks at the gun which belonged to him, that being his silver handgun. “Hey bro, you know this is the same gun he killed our little brother with?”
The man sitting on Jack's back chuckles, “Nahh! I didn’t know that! What are we gonna do to this piece of shit?”
She points the gun at Jack and shoots again, striking the same wound once again. “We're gonna kill this son of a bitch of course!” She starts laughing and stomps on the knife again, making Jack scream in the utmost pain.
Jack could feel himself about to pass out from the severe torment. “Ple-Please… Don’t do this! Th-This wo-won’t make you feel better or bring back your lost sibling, trust me!” Jack coughs and his vision’s fogging.
“Nah! Fuck that, we killing yo ass!” chuckled the man, “Yo sis, let me see that gun for a sec!” He stands up not before he kicks Jack's face to lay him to his side.
“Sure thing! Here you go bro!” She hands him the gun and he deeply stares at it.
He points it around and chuckles, glorifying the gun's elegance. “At least you didn’t kill my little brother with some cheap ass gun.” He walks in front of the window and shines the gun in the sunlight. ”Ooowee, damn this is a mighty fun pistol.”
Jack’s mouth leaked, and he can feel his senses draining. “Please… I-I—”
“How does it feel to be killed with your own treasure, huh bitch?!” He laughs and points the gun at Jack, “Ready to die psycho?”
“Man hurry up! I’m hungry, let's just get this over with already!” She stands next to her brother and grabs his shoulder. “This is for our families suffering mothafuckah!” She laughs manically with her brother.
Jack tries lifting his arm up, he can feel his shoulder ready to pop out of place in the position he’s in. He’s weakened, suffering, and the knife’s far too embedded into the floor to attempt to do a quick pull out. Jack didn’t care though, he fought through the excruciating pain and kept trying to lift his arm the best he could.
“GOODBYE BITCH!” As the guy’s about to pull the trigger; A gun shot was heard from outside and the guy stood there like a statue.
His sister looked at him and transpired into a distraught state. Blood poured out his ears and nose. The sister screams and her brother falls dead on his face. She glares out the window and spots Eric outside. She’s livid and grabs the silver gun, and fires back at the big guy in a blind rage. Eric ran off her view before she could even attempt to hit him.
He kicked his own front door open and ran to the stairs. “Jack!”
“You bitch ass! I’ll fucking kill you!” screamed the girl.
Jack used this chance to grab the knife that’s embedded into his forearm and used up whatever strength he had left to try to pull it out.
Jack groaned loudly and moaned, alerting the girl. “Nu-uh bitch! I’ll kill you first before he gets here!” She took aim at Jack's twitching face and pulled the trigger, but it only clicked. “No, no, no no! Fuck it I’ll just kill you with my hands!”
She rushes at Jack and starts beating him with his gun. Jack’s still on his side, using his one free hand to eagerly pull out that knife, but was severely hurting from the gunshot wound on his shoulder. Despite all these complicated circumstances, Jack ignores the pain as she smacks his head with the butt of the gun.
“Die, die, die! Just fucking die!” She pummels the piece of metal, smacks, and scratches the life out of Jack to end his life.
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Jack’s blood pumped to its max and his adrenaline exploded, giving him a temporary numbing boost of strength to lift his arm with all his might. Jack’s eyes exploded, bloodshot, and the young man pulled his forearm off the ground, smacking it against her throat. The knife's end penetrates into her throat and blood pours out of her mouth, over his arm to the floor between them. She moans, gurgles, and dies a slow death while looking into Jack’s fuming eyes. Her lifeless body leans onto Jack and he pushes her off. Her body falls, Jack pulls the knife out of his forearm slowly and painfully. The young man groans and it finally comes out.
Jack grunts, throwing the knife away, and moans from all the pain pulsing throughout his body. “Fucking hell…” Jack falls backwards and slams, “This just isn't my we-week.”
Eric runs in and spots the two dead people and his nephew lying on the ground. “Goddamn man! What happened?!”
Jack coughed out blood and rolled his eyes. “What do you-you think?”
“Why is it that everytime we go somewhere you have to be this close to death?! Damn man you’re more fucked than before.” Eric walked next to Jack and kneeled. “Jack, I need to take you to a hospital, my guy! If we don’t then you’ll surely die.”
“No, we can’t… for our safety, and our friends.” Jack sits up and chuckles a bit in pain, “Bitch sh-shot me twice on the shoulder. I’ve never felt pain this bad-badly since I fou-fought that pig three years ago. Ergh, damn, what are we gonna do now?”
Eric walked over to the window, briefly looked out and covered it with the curtains. “Well, we could stay here until you recover a bit? What do you say?”
Jack coughs, feeling the urge to faint, the adrelines wearing off. “Sounds good to me, but only for a d-day. Ouch, it even hu-hurts to talk too! Lets cle-clean up these two.”
Jack raises a knee, trying to stand back on his feet, but collapses. His uncle got back to his nephew to help him up. He wrapped Jack’s arm over his boulder-like shoulders and walked him to Angela’s bed to seat him. Jack took a seat and fell to his side, groaning severely.
“What you need to do is lay your ass down and let me take care of the bodies. You need to rest and save all that energy or whatever you have left, my guy!”
Eric walks up to the two corpses and kicks them. It amused his nephew, bringing out a faint chuckle.
“How dare you pour your nasty vengeful ass blood all over baby girl's floor, dirty ass punks.”
Eric walked out and went to grab cleaning utensils to clean up the blood. Jack laid upwards, reflecting on the situation that just happened, feeling even guiltier than before. Not only did his feelings of being responsible for her demise rose tenfold, but he violated her space and spilled the blood of criminals all over her innocent floor. It made his blood boil, he felt like scum, in which the young man spewed in thoughts of suicide. He took a glance at the bodies, spotting his silver handgun and thought about reloading it later on to end his life. Even with this dark thought, Jack knew deep down he didn’t have the courage to do so. His mind’s already at the pinnacle of lunacy, but he wondered how he hasn’t truly fallen victim to the depths of insanity.
Jack brought his eyes back to the ceiling and stared deeply at the dusty wood. “Damn it all—to hell, especially, me.”and carrying the bodies.”
His uncle walked back in with cleaning utensils and a mop bucket. “Before I clean this shit, I gotta get rid of the trash first.”
The big guy walked over to both bodies, picking each one with his massive arms and carrying them out of the room like nothing. Jack grew another thought now, one that would bring a resolution to his pain, but temporary. The young man reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his mysterious labeless pill bottle. He brought the bottle up to his view and clutched it, feeling disgusted within himself. Jack opened the bottle and poured out a couple. He stares at the man-made drug and has a flashback of Dr. Cato calls him a druggy to transition to him witnessing Alexandria’s addiction that one night she said she was just burning something.
“What a way to live, huh, Jack?” The young man deeply sighs and ingests them.
They quickly take into effect, doing just the trick for Jack’s liking. The pills relax his tension, hurt muscles, stress, anxiety, everything, even making the young man immediately pass out. Eric walks back in with a mop and sees his nephew fast asleep. Though something caught his eyes, an orange small bottle lying in the palm of Jack’s right hand that rested on his chest. Eric shakes his head and begins his process of cleaning, but the thoughts of his little niece Angela being in her room either singing or drawing with joy made the big guy feel more depressed. It’s enough to remind Eric’s memories of the good times with Randolph, his best friend who stuck with him from the beginning of his ganghood. Their unbreakable bond made them eager to give a life of norm and comfort to Angela, but given their complicated lives have made this only a dream to never come true.
Eric sheds a single tear and chuckles. “Now’s not the time to be a pussy, let's clean up baby girl's room or else she'll yell at you big guy.”
Eric slammed the mop on the ground, swinging it, but he couldn’t help staring at the old photos that she had of her and everyone else still standing in their frames on her desk. He paused and sulked. Eric grew angry, frustrated with himself, enough for his anger to clutch the mops wooden handle and snap it in two.
The pieces of wood bounced, and rolled away as Eric brought his gaze to the window. “Goddamn, what has become of this fucking life man…” He wipes his eye and resumes his cleaning.
The next day comes by. It’s cold, the tint of grey hasn’t faded, streets are still empty, it was another quiet eerie day in Flint. Jack wakes up from his drugged slumber and notices that a new day has dawned. He yawns and grabs his wounds that ache. Sitting up straight, Jack saw bandages, stitches that Eric covered his wounds and sewed his knife marks. The young man even had a makeshift cast on him and almost forgot that the woman broke his bone within his forearm.
Jack scratched the bristles on his chin and got out of Angela's bed. “Well, let's see what this day has in store for me, shall we?”
Jack limped his way up to the window, taking a peek through the curtains to see if anyone’s outside. Despite the clouds covering the sun's rays, Jack could feel their power pushing through the dense grey that tried to blind him.
Feeling the morning go away as his vision felt less intense, he glanced around. “Well, this is probably the most comfortable morning I’ve had in years. It seems everyone’s still absent, probably still paranoid, can’t blame them.” Jack sighs with relief and limps back to bed.
Before taking another limp, the young man stops, remembering the old photographs of Angela on her desk along with everyone else. Turning over, he limped back to the desk and stared at the past.
Jack reached for one and looked deeply into the picture frame that trapped the past. The future looking back upon the less troubled past made the young man bite his lip in sorrow. It was a picture of him, Randolph, and Eric on her tenth birthday party.
God I miss you. I miss you so fucking much, baby sis…
Jack frowns and sets the picture down. He makes his way to her closet that’s filled with her memories and opens it. Hanging on their hangers, dust free were all the adorable outfits she used to wear; along with one agonising memento of that dreadful night, one Jack has repeating every night. A piece of man made cloth, fabric, the very thing that has Jack reminding of his guilt, and it’s staring right at him. Seeing it again, the old stain of her lingering warmth spread around a hole, a tear that imbedded a projectile of her demise. It’s the old hoodie she loved to wear, the hoodie that Jack used to wear.
How did this end up here…? Jack’s eyes shook in guilt.
Seeing that bullet hole yet again made Jack’s brain rewind to that night. Flashbacks of his fight, the encounter, her screams, her cries, her last breath. Her last warmth that Jack will never forget feeling on his bruised cold face made him clench his jaw.
The young man grabbed the hoodie and held it, staring dead at it with dimmed eyes. “I’m so-sorry… Angela.” He hugs the hoodie as his eyes quivered in sorrow. “Angela-Angela, Ange—la…”
Eric walks in, spotting his nephew in a guilted saddened trance. “Yo, Jack. Snap out of it.”
The young man didn’t hear his uncle, the tape of that night kept playing and his own screams of agony blocked out the outside world. His uncle approached his nephew from behind, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. Nothing’s working, he can’t pause the past. Eric slapped his sense back into the side of Jack’s face, and it worked. The young man blinked rapidly and massaged his face, turning around to look at his uncle in sorrow.
Eric crossed his arms and tilted his head. “You good? You looked out of it, and for a second I thought I lost you to insanity, kid.”
Jack sighed and shook his head. “Shit… my bad. Though you scared me there for a second.”
Eric then saw Jack holding the old blood stained black hoodie in one of his arms. “Is that? Damn, my bad. Didn’t know you were having dark memories.”
“You’re good. I was just in the midst of my guilted remembrance.”
“No big words, don’t do that to your college dropout uncle.” Eric sighed and placed a hand on the hoodie. “It’s been three years now, hasn’t it? I’m sorry bro…”
Jack strokes his hand on the hoodie and decides to replace it back on the hanger to hang away the past. “It’s fine, besides, it's best to move on, right?” Jack walks off and Eric’s left alone in Angela’s room.
As Eric looked back to her closet, he noticed something inside that caught his eye. “What's this?” He reached into the closet and saw a piece of paper from one of her shorts sticking out.
Eric grabbed it and folded it out. Upon laying his eyes on it, they grew huge with fear and shock.
Wh-What’s this…?
It’s a drawing of Angela locked in a cage and a girl in white with no face laughing at her. Never has Eric seen a drawing this depressing when she was around. She never referenced nor gave hints of drawing these types of emotions onto paper, but the fact that he’s seeing this now made him question above the already mountainous suspicion he has on Jack. Not only did the cage and the girl laughing at Angela made her uncle sulk, but the environment of shaded darkness and her dim eyes made his emotions stir.
Something else was on the paper though, a small message written next to it reading—“She makes me hurt, she makes me cry, she taunts me, but without her… I’m nothing but cattle, a walking vessel in the making for her return.”
Eric’s grip made the paper tremble, appearing like a crumbling road with his building anger. The big guy quickly regains his composure. He’s calm enough to blow his frustrations through his nostrils. Eric throws the paper back in the closet and walks out, down the stairs to find his nephew. He wasn’t in the living room when he got to the last step so he walked to the kitchen. There, he spots Jack in the backyard staring at nothing through the kitchen window. Eric walks out of his home and into the backyard to confront Jack. Jack stood in front of Randolph's grave, staring at the wilderness ahead of him basking in his silent depression.
Eric stood on the back porch and watched Jack stare at nothingness. Poor bastard. A kid like him to go through this much is fucking depressing…
Eric walks next to Jack, placing his hands on his hips and stares at the wilderness too. “Whatcha thinking about, huh?”
Jack didn’t respond at first, but after another minute, he chuckled. “Nothing. Just realising how much of a failure I am at life, that’s all.”
“Don’t say that about yo self, man, enough talk of this sad shit, let's change the subject.”
Jack mildly nods. “Go on then.”
Eric scratched the back of his head and coughed. “Well, I uh, looked in Angela's closet and found a drawing of hers.”
“Is that so? Was it cute?” Jack replied with a monotone.
Eric takes his hands off his hips and slowly looks at Jack who didn’t take a glance at his uncle. “It was far from anything that’s cute, quite frankly, it was creepy and sad.”
Jack clenched his fist and showed his uncle the edge of his face. “Wh-What did you see?”
Eric looked serious, knitting his brows. “It was her, locked in a cage with a little girl in a white dress. It even had a sad message written on it.”
Eric went up to Jack's face, eyeing him. The young man gulped and his eye movement turned erratic. Eric kept his gaze on Jack while his nephew tried his best to not look awkward or more inconspicuous.
“Care to explain why she would draw something so depressing? Jack.” Eric’s voice sounded intense and heavy.
It made Jack look away, clenching his jaw in guilt. “Maybe, maybe it was just an old drawing of hers, that’s probably all there is to it.”
Eric clenched his fists, but took a breath. “You know what’s funny? The fact that my homie told me about the people dying in their sleep, but not only that Jack, something happened in the call I had with him before we setted out to this place.”
“Then why bring it up now? Couldn’t you’ve mentioned this before our trip?”
Eric stroked his chin and smacked his lips. “Heh, well I bring it up now because it correlates the things I’ve been growing suspicious of about you for all these years.”
Jack twitched an eye and looked away again.
“Jack, it's the simple fact I heard a little girl sing before I lost contact with him and lastly, the fact she called out your name!”
Jack’s eyes grew wide, shaking, he even let out a loud gasp.
“Jack, we’re supposed to be homies. So please, tell me what the fucks going on man.”
Jack closed the gates to his eyes and proceeded to walk away in shame. Eric shook his head, dissa[piointed, but he wasn’t going to let Jack get off the hook this easily. For three years the young man’s been dodging questions like this that his uncle wants answers on. Eric had enough and before Jack could leave his vicinity, he grabbed the young man's shoulder, turning him around.
Jack looked worried, annoyed even. He showed his uncle just how frustrated he is by his exposed clenching teeth. “Eric, please now’s not the time to talk crazy!”
Hearing Jack raise his voice in that moment made his uncle feel more worried for his sanity. “Relax Jack, the only one who’s acting crazy is you.”
Jack tried walking again but his uncle grabbed his shoulder abruptly, this time without giving him a chance of leaving. “Let me go, Eric, please.”
Eric reeled Jack in and pushed him in silent anger, making the young man fall on his butt. The young man looked up at his uncle and saw Eric’s eyes were bloodshot and ready to burst with emotions. Inside his muscular physique, the big guy was battling his emotions, preventing them from coming out. Jack felt bad, seeing his uncle doing the same type of combatment he does when he hides his emotions didn’t feel right, it’s something he’s not used to seeing on the big guy who isn’t afraid of expressing his truest emotions. In Jack’s mind, he’s feeling as conflicted as ever on revealing more truth to his uncle, he isn’t sure if Eric would believe the things he would tell him.
Eric blinks and grabs Jack by his shirt. “Jack, I’ve lost so many friends, my best friend, my life! The mystery behind you has been driving me nuts man! You’ve only given me a taste of your sceresty, but no more. I want the entire platter, enough's enough.”
Jack grit his teeth, looking away. “I-I, I’m not—”
“If you can’t answer me some damn questions… then you’re truly the failure that you are, my guy.”
Jack closes his eyes, and groans. The last words in his sentence struck a ice pick of reality into his damaged heart concealed in a box of some ones never ending devotion. That being the girl in white, the one who has his beating life in her clutch.
“This is your last chance Jack. Please, tell me what’s going on, I don’t want to inflict violence on you, you’re already screwed up enough. I want to help you, don’t do this for me… Do it for Angela.”
Jack’s in disbelief. He opened his eyes and sat on the ground, gasping away all his guilt. Softly, the boy muttered nonsense, making his uncle uncomfortable for a moment. The young man grabbed his head and shook. He's quiet, indispair, Jack’s fighting his sadness, preventing it from coming out. Eric let go of Jack and backed up, pulling out his pistol out from behind his pants.
Eric cocked the gun and aimed at Jack. “Jack, if you’re about to lose it like last time, like back at the facility—then let me be the one to stop your madness.”
Jack raised open the gates to his dim eyes and gazed up at his uncle. Never in his life has he seen his uncle so serious and being in the position of his victims to bear witness the last glare that’ll take away their life. Jack smeared away his craziness and took deep breaths. He frowned and slapped himself the hardest he could currently, making his uncle gasp beneath his breath. Jack got back on his feet and massaged his head as his uncle slowly put down the gun.
Jack massaged his cheek and approached his uncle, patting his giant arm. “Okay, you want the full truth, you got it. I’m sorry for dragging you guys into our mess.”
Eric sniffed, putting the gun away. “It’s about time.”
“I’m really sorry, it’s my fault Randolph died, it’s my fault we lost homies, and more importantly—it’s my fault Angela isn’t here with us right now…”
“Alright, enough of beating your own ass. But sorry for being selfish right now. I just need to know bro.”
Jack softly grinned. “Let's go back inside, it’s going to be a long explanation, and Eric, what I’m about to tell you might be the answer to the people dying in their sleep too.” Jack furrowed his brows, getting serious. “Prepare yourself because it’s about to get ridiculously stupidly scary. And I wish I were exaggerating”
Eric cringes, wiping away his smile. “Huh, uh, what type of shit is that? Your statement sounds so stupid my guy.”
Jack walked past his uncle to carry the conversation inside where it’s warmer, plus Jack’s body was aching. Eric followed behind as the two went up the patio and back inside the house. Both men sat down on individual couches and took a moment to relax. While relaxing, Jack grinned again, getting up from the couch and made his way up the stairs. His uncle raised a brow but waited to see what his nephew was up to. Moments later Jack walks back into the living room with Angela’s personal sketchbook that she had hidden deep inside her closet.
Jack places the sketchbook down on the coffee table in front of his uncle. “You ready, uncle?”
Eric replies by nodding. Jack flips open the book and shows him a couple of suspicious yet beautiful portraits. Eric sat there, analysing the drawings as his nephew took a seat next to him. The pictures confused Eric but made him feel sadder by the flip of each page. Jack kept turning the pages, showing his uncle the beautiful yet depressing portraits she had hidden away from her uncles for years. Finally, Jack stopped flipping, bringing both of their attention fully on to one picture and that picture was a picture of Jack and the girl in the white dress together.
Eric looked at Jack with shock. “Jack… what does this—?”
Jack was staring deep into the photo and seemed rather upset.
His uncle had his jaw dropped in disbelief, all these pictures were eye opening. “Jack… what is all of this? What are you trying to show me? These-These drawings, they’re all fucked up…”
Jack slouches on the couch, bringing his stare to the ceiling. “The girl in the white dress. She’s the reason why things are so strange, uncle.”
“Huh?! Who is she? First tell me ghosts and shit are real back then, now you’re telling me this girl’s responsible for all this supernatural crap?”
Jack sighs and doesn’t say a word.
“Jack, this picture is the two of you together. What does it mean? What is it?”
“To be honest, I’m not so sure myself. I have just as many questions as you do, uncle. About what she is, everything’s that’s happening around us, but what I do know is that she’s the main reason why Dr. Cato’s after Angela—or was…”
Eric scoots to the side and places a hand against his head, feeling confused. “Hold up, Hold—up! What are you trying to really tell me, my guy?”
“The girl in the white dress started appearing in my dreams when I was a kid. Then she started appearing right in front of me in reality or illusions. As time flew by, the older I got, all the complications about her were correlating with the discovery of something that we’re oblivious to.”
Jack grabs the drawing book and stares at the picture as Eric sat there in disbelief.
The young man clenched his jaw and shook his head. “What I’m trying to tell you Eric is that there’s a world out there that we don’t know about. A world where spirits and other strange phenomena hide in the shadows of our everyday lives. I experienced that phenomenon when I fought that fat bastard, and let me tell you, I’ve never felt that afraid in my entire life and to be honest, I’m still shitting bricks even talking about it.”
Eric reminses that night in his mind, remembering the feels, weight, the tremors, the magnitude of this supernatural occurrence being unfolded as he fought the doctor. The building was being destroyed, shaking, and more notably, the necklace around the doctor's neck that glowed before he tried punching the big guy. That courageous punch that Eric felt as light surrounded the doctor coming at him and making contact to his face, didn’t bring an ounce of pain.
“So what you’re saying is, for real for real, I know you said it before but to actually make it a confirmation… Ghosts and spirits or whatever are real?”
Jack sighs, and sets the booklet down on the table. “Well, maybe, I’ve only had phew encounters. Yet I’m not sure if I believe one hundred percent on that supernatural crap to an extent. I kinda made myself believe it to relieve myself of all these burdens weighing me down, but like I said, I’m still scared to find out the full fledged truth.”
“Who’s this girl in white then? What connections does she have with you and had with Angela?”
Jack stands up, and shrugs, “I don’t have the answer to that yet, but what I do know is that what she desires…” Jack looks at Eric, petrified, “Is me…”
Jack felt his legs tremble, and Eric saw. “Yo, you alright?”
“I’m sorry, just thinking about her makes me nervous.”
His uncle stands on his feet as well, crossing his arms. “Jack, is she the one behind the people dying in their sleep too? You mentioned she appeared in your dreams when you were a kid? So she must be the one behind the killings, right?”
Jack grits his teeth, “Y-Yes, she is the one behind it. I’m sorry for hiding it from you; I just thought that—”
Eric playfully punches Jack's shoulder, trying to cheer up the broken young man. “You thought that I wouldn’t believe you huh?” Eric chuckles, “Trust me, I’ve always believed in stuff like that. The fact that you told me about it and not only that, I’ve also had my fair share of encounters too, my guy!”
Jack brought out a grin of relief, feeling some weight being lifted off his chest. “Is that so? Well, glad to hear that you don’t think I’m insane or mentally ill for telling you.”
“Who said you aren’t insane or mentally ill? You need even more help, my guy!”
The two men laughed. Eric felt some clarity and could feel relieved enough to rest at ease tonight when he went to bed. Jack only gave a glimpse of the truth to his uncle three years ago, but to tell him more of it and unravel the mystery he hides made the young man feel much happier. The two sat back down on the couch, letting out long breaths and chuckling.
“So? What’s the plan after tomorrow?” said Jack.
“Hmm, don’t know, but I’ve got an idea.” Eric crosses his arms, “Yeah, this is gonna be different though. Not only are we experiencing some major bullshit from that deranged white man, but with spooky shit like this! Man, this is out of my league my guy, you’ve got more experience in this than I do so you come up with a plan instead haha!”
Jack leans back on the couch, groaning. “I was afraid you were gonna say that. To be honest I’ve only got one idea, but that’s about it.”
“And what would that be?” replied Eric.
Jack thinks for a second, scratching his head and abruptly standing up again. “We’re escaping this zone, you said my bounties only inside the quarantine zones right? So if we make it out then we should be home free!”
Eric stands up too but with worry written all over his face. “Yeah, I guess you’re right, but Jack, what are we gonna do about the poor people dying from that girl? Is there any way we can stop her from doing so?”
Jack shook his head and moaned. He can’t think of a conclusion nor an idea.
His uncle interrupted the brief silence by loudly snapping his fingers. “Hold up! You said what she desires is you right? So maybe if I knock your ass out and take your tall ass to her—then maybe she’ll finally stop. Perfect plan!”
Jack felt irritated a bit by Eric’s plan, it made him twitch his eyes and raise the edge of his lip. “Haha, very funny. To be honest, I don’t think it’ll be that easy if you took me to her like that.” Jack grins and looks at the living room window, “But I might have an idea on how to stop her and to be honest, I’m going to hate myself by doing it.”
“Whatever man, just don’t drag me along with all that creepy scary shit like before in the abandoned facility. So, when are we leaving?”
“After tomorrow we’ll leave, I still gotta heal a bit and rest.”
Eric wasn’t sure they should leave early, especially the condition that Jack’s in. “What about your broken arm? And the horrible skin rashes/dangling skin on your back and arms?”
Jack shrugged and looked confident about healing his wounds. “Don’t worry, I might have an idea for that.”
Eric also shrugs, not feeling confident in Jack's words. “Whatever man, you do you. So, where are we going? Got any place in mind once we leave this hell.”
“Hm, if I recall, Candy’s still out there, right?”
“Uh, I-I wouldn’t know since that damn fruitcake plays too many games with me on the phone.”
“The last time you spoke to him, when was it?”
“Agh, like a year ago, why?”
“So he’s still doing his part it seems. Heh, I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to see us again.”
Eric had a disgusted look on his face, “Oh god, you’re serious?! Damn I thought we wouldn’t have to see that damn fruity pebble ass fool so soon!” He then sighs, grinning. “I guess we don’t have a choice. I hope you’re ready because the last time you had contact with him was two years ago.”
Jack softly blows air out his nose, easing his shoulders. “Yeah, you’re right, but I know him and he would never go back on a promise or break it. I know he’s going to be pissed to see me but happy at the same time. He has every right to be mad at me afterall.”
Eric walks on over to the front door and opens it. “Before we start another grand journey, I’ll be back, I gotta go talk to some of my crew and get updates on at least something.” Eric walks out and shuts the door behind him.
Jack’s alone and feels relieved to know that Eric didn’t call him some delusional sick idiot that believes in the supernatural. He’s just glad that he’s gotten some sort of closure about it and felt a huge set of weights were lifted off his burdened shoulders.
The young man waddles to his room across from the living room and as he’s closing in to his door, he hears loud faint cries of sorrow from afar.
Hearing those agonising cries, rubbing softly against his ear drums has fueled his guilt once again. It made Jack’s face precipitate, and brought his thoughts to a chill. No… stop it, shut up…
Again, the young man’s guilt has overcome his thinking, and forces Jack to confront those haunting wails of pain to the outside patio. The door shut behind him, and he placed his bandaged hand over his heart, he felt those sounds pierce the walls around his heart. Jack reaches into his pocket and takes out a cross that he picked up from the facility when he returned after a year from the incident that night.
Jack clenches the holy relact and apologies to those cries from the distance with the clings of his shut eyelids. “I had to do it, I had to or else… it would’ve… would’ve gotten worse!”
Jack’s body shivered, his temporary darkness swirled the colours of the purple and a sudden flash of light welcomed itself into his dark mind. The moment he opened the gates to life, he found himself in the middle of a grassy field full of elegant flowers and that giant tree fluttering with life in front of his gaze. The tree that always appeared in his soft dreams, which gave him hope, and cleansed his soul by its magnitude of pure beauty. Jack knew this place all too well and the first thought that came into mind was to power walk to the tree as quickly as he could.
Jack stops in front of nature's greatest creation and walks around it, peaking around back. Once he got a good look behind the tree, he spotted a girl sitting against the tree reading something. Her hair’s coated in bleach blonde, but had darkened black to pink highlights edging out from its roots to its tips. From what Jack could make out of the angle he’s in, her outfit was similar to one girl he knew, but she wore a coat and the skirt was mildly plaided out. Immediately Jack recognized this indivueld just from the hair and outfit alone, someone he hasn’t seen in years and someone who broke his cage of brokenness. It made the young man gasp in pure happiness, quivered his eyes, and made his heart race in joy.
“Li…ly?” They couldn’t hear Jack because they were wearing headphones.
He takes a deep breath to relieve his past gloom and approaches her but as he did, closing inches closer, she disappears into gold dust.
“Huh…?!”
The elegant tree started to blossom roses of pure blood red and the sky turned into that of a sunset if it were depressed. A cold chill filled the air, yet a soft gust of heat approached from behind Jack, rubbing against it. He can feel the anger being brushed against his back and the feeling of being stared at. It forces him to look over his shoulder and his eyes are locked in place. Coming over the horizon of the flower field, a dress dazzling in elegance, sadness, and captivating cold eyes glowing beneath the shadow of their hood was none other than the woman in the red dress.
Jack clenched his fist, and stumbled backwards. “Wh-What do you want from me?! Why are you here!” He shouted in an extremely frightened and empty tone.
The young man's chest felt ready to explode, revealing to her the hollowness between his ribs, his knees wobbled, his eyes fully expanded, fear was coated all over Jack. The woman strode through the field, burning away the flowers, expanding the ground turning it black with every step, sparks of their death fluttered around her. She had a stare of anger towards Jack, but expressed a still face.
“Jack, how could you, you promised her, didn’t you?” The woman in red spoke in a soft gentle tone but had a hint of anger within it.
She continued walking and continued to burn away the grass with every soft step.
Jack pinned himself against the bark of the tree, terrified. “What are you… talking about?”
“Why… Why did you come back so late? Why couldn’t you protect her!”
The clouds began to fade away into a misty cloud of red, a spark of plasma shot out of the sky, striking the misty red clouds and turned the very heavens into ravaging flames coursing throughout the skies.
Jack gazed at the hell being created as he expressed just how terrified he was. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about? What do you want from me?!”
Jack panicked and breathed heavily while the woman in red gave him the stare of pity and anger. The skies were melting away, raining down onto the ground near them like sparks of rain.
“Jack…” she said in a sorrowful tone.
“I don’t know who you are, but what I do know is that you almost killed me three years ago!”
The woman in red stopped in her tracks. She shed actual tears, visibly glowing in the tint of red around them. She looked into Jack’s lifeless eyes and frowned.
“I’m sorry… I really am, but you have to be punished for what you’ve done.” She lifts her arms and opens them out to Jack. “Your punishment will be dire if you continue down this valley of sin, Jack.”
Jack saw rose petals fly towards him and started surrounding the tree. “Me—punished?! Now you sound like that girl…”
The woman in red wasn’t too pleased by his comment, it made her eyes swell. She closed her hands elegantly and the moment she did, Jack’s being raised off the ground.
The woman in red looked upset from the comparison Jack made. “Don’t you dare compare me to that wretched thing! How dare you, how dare you!”
Jack couldn’t move; he's being lifted higher in the air. He suddenly clutched his chest and neck, feeling something gripping both functions of life. The woman in red started closing her embrace and as she’s about to close her arms, she saw something glowing beneath Jack's pants pocket.
“What’s that in your pants?” she asked calmly.
Jack looks at the woman in red, twitching an eye. “You-You mean this?”
Jack reaches into his pocket, pulling, and reveals the cross, shocking a gasp out of the woman in red. She drops her arms and Jack falls back down to the ground, landing on his back.
“Je-Jsus christ lady… couldn’t you have dropped me more gently?” Jack stood back on his feet, grunting. “I’m guessing this thing hurts you as it does to her, am I right?”
The woman in red actually smiles and wipes the tears off her face. “No, it’s not that, it’s just… I never would’ve imagined you would hold something that she hates. Does that mean you are free from her?”
Jack lifted his hand and stared at that item of holy might. “Well… I guess you can say that, but—!”
“But?” she replied in a serious tone.
Jack knits his brows, and clenches the cross. “I’m going to find her and have her stop her chaos and blackened destruction. So I can put a stop to this whole charade once and for all.”
The woman in red frowns and is agitated. “Why-Why would you confront that thing when it’s done nothing but cause you great pain and suffering? Why would you return to her when she’s responsible for all of those poor souls she’s taken?!”
“Huh? You know what she's doing?!”
The woman in red doesn’t respond, rather she blinks and reveals a hollow glow of red within the corneas of her eyes.
“If you knew, then you could’ve stopped her. But since you haven't and instead stayed a witness, you’re nor different than her, right?”
The woman in red expressed vulgar anger, showing a glint and knitting her brows.
“You’ve caused me quite a bit of pain as well lady. Besides, it's my fault that she’s doing what she’s doing, so-so that’s why I’m going to be responsible for my wrong doings for once and stop this.”
The woman in red couldn’t take it anymore. These words, combating her feelings, ambitions, more importantly her will to protect Jack, felt rebutteled and thrown away. She collapses to her knees and hugs herself as she cries tears of blood. She cried in silence and everything around them started to twirl around the tree, causing the ground to collapse and for Jack to fall through along with the tree. Jack screams and reaches his hand out to whatever light was left, watching the woman in red disintegrate into small sparks of burnt paper. Jack closes his eyes and as soon as he opens them again he finds himself back in Angela’s room on her floor.
Huh… What the? He sits up and looks around, wiping his head out of relief.
“Just when I thought I was in the clear with these lucid/vivid dreams…” Jack stands back up and chuckles in fear. He places his hand against his forehead and sighs.
As I said earlier, this just isn’t my week…
Jack drops his hand and looks out Angela’s window. Who or whatever that woman is, the fact she knew of the girl in whites doing without my saying means she’s been watching everything.
“But for how long, exactly? Huh, whatever. Next time I see her, I’ll grow some balls to ask her more, but for now, I hope you’re ready Jack… because I’m coming back to you, girl in white.”