szarabasjka

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

***

Jensen went home to find his mother up.

“Baby…” she hugged him and didn’t let him go no matter what he said. The gesture made him understand something had happened.

“Is Jared safe?” his mother nodded and Jensen left her behind going to his bedroom. He called his friend but Jared never picked up.

So by dawn he was out of bed and walking the mile and a half to Jared’s house only to find it empty.

Of course it was empty. Jared woke up early to pick up few gallons of pig blood from a slaughter house and marched with Genevieve and Pellegrino to the partially deceased health center.

He was so angry. He didn’t say a word to his friends he just shouted and throwed things, from the blood, to stones. It was almost ten in the morning when he saw a pair of dark eyes looking at him, long straight lashes framing them. He saw rosy cheeks and a sweet smile on the face of a young boy.

“What?!” he asked blunt and the kid giggled.

“Don’t you recognize me?” and the kid shook a bag of gummy bears in front of him. It was Osric and he had his eye color back. He was officially back.

Sadly Jared was still too angry and just smirked at him and moved to a side.

“You’re a rotten nothing more.” And then someone from behind brought a bucket of blood and poured it over the kid, Jared by instinct pulled the boy towards him and hugged him but he was still soaked in blood.

Osric’s pretty dark eyes filled with tears while his mother ran to him, the Christian ladies were roaring in anger. “Os…” Jared tried to get close again while the kid’s mom hugged him. “I’m sorry.”

Osric looked at Jared and throwing the candy at him said “I knew you were lying when you said you were Jensen’s friend now”

“boo hoo little monster.” Mark Pellegrino had one of his giant paws on Jared’s shoulder and was laughing

Jared stood under the sun the entire morning of his Saturday, without thinking without feeling anything. He only left when his mother went there bringing refreshments for the ladies. He couldn’t face her.

His way home was quiet, he didn’t even felt the need to say good bye to his so-called friends, he got home and found a figure sitting against the door, he knew who it was, eyes closed sitting there still as a dead body. In fact, it was a dead body. It was Jensen.

Jared had to go back and walk all the way across their neighbor’s backyards in order to avoid him but finally was inside his house, he went straight to the fridge looking for a beer, to find nothing, no beer, there were only two stupid apples and a couple bottles of water.

Thinking about that, he haven’t needed beer to sleep since Jensen was in isolation with Osric, after that he always had a reason to wake up, and not since then either he had been in one of the demonstrations of the militia.

“I was going to give up everything for a fucking rotten, I was giving up-” he punched the wall. “Everything, I was ready to do everything for a bastard that could hurt kids and defenseless people.” Another punch and he started crying. “for someone who could take pictures of a rape instead of stopping it.”

“You didn’t know.” The voice was soft and emotionless, during this whole thing that same voice kept him calm, why does it anger him now?

“Leave.” Jared got up and walked down the hall “And leave my key.” He passed the door into his room closing the door, still he stood against it; one ear close trying to hear if Jensen will actually leave his house without saying anything else.

He woke up, it was dark and he by instinct held his phone, he had nobody to talk to, nobody else but Jensen, and he refused to talk to him.

The beer returned to the menu as the main source of nutrients, the only thing Jared did aside of drinking himself stupid was getting ready to leave, that same Monday he gave his two week notice and went from work to the militia meetings, then home and he drank himself to sleep.

Jensen tried to talk to him the first week, by Tuesday the next week he gave up. And Jared still felt miserable and sad. He looked himself on a mirror two days before leaving. And saw a ghost.

“Damn it! The only rotten thing here is you.” He shaved and got his stuff ready, he had everything packed already and sent away; Just a couple more days. He marched to the door, nothing in his mind or his schedule for the day, he just needed peace.

“What, you’re not gonna tell anyone you’re leaving?”

It was Josh Ackles sitting on the same spot his baby brother favored when visiting Jared’s house, or more specifically at Jared’s front door.

“What the fuck do you want?”

“I want you to help Me.” he got up and showed him two shovels.

“I have to work.”

Josh’s face twisted. “I know you left your job, remember who you work for? He told me.” of course the factory manager was a guy from Josh class, his football team buddy, another of those from the red pickup truck gang.

Jared sighed and turned his eyes down to control his temper.

“What you really want?”

Josh moved closer.

“Jensen’s treatment will be done in two weeks and by then I hope I get some answers about a different matter” and offering Jared working gloves and one of the shovels. “For a start: We’re digging out Anders to burn the remains and get our parents free.”

“Free of what?”

“Just… free.” Jared stared at him not getting it. “You didn’t understand right? You think they wanted to stay here? Where their kids were killed? You think Sheppard wanted to stay here where things were shitty and people was scared of him? Or Sam wanted to be away from Alona?” Jared blinked stupidly. “They had to stay because any other sheriff or Mayor would be asking questions about a missing sheriff and this town is not ready for that.” And Josh moved tossing him the gloves. “Now, move, we’re taking care of stuff.”

Josh drove across fields and fields and empty planes and roads of dirt until they reached Samantha Ferris’ property at the very end of the city.

“My mom said, your father and mine brought him here, after whatever my mom and your mom did to the bastard.” Josh walked without saying another word until he found a specific depression on the soil, it was about six foot long and 10 inches wide, and without a word he stuck his shovel.

“You can ask, you know?”

Jared looked at him for a while.

“Ask what?”

“How’s Jensen.”

Jared moved past Josh and started digging, he wondered how was his friend every day , and every night, after seeing Osric’s eyes he wonders what color were Jensen’s, green? Like Josh and Mrs. Ackles? Or the hazel Mr. Ackles had. He wondered if by some miracle Jensen would forgive him.

He noticed Josh had stopped digging and turned to see the bathroom curtains from his house, from when he was 16. “Oh My God.”

The putrid smell permeating the air forced Josh to cover his nose.

“Oh My God.” Josh parroted.

To Josh this was maybe harder than it was for Jared, he knew his baby brother died and that his parents took care of the man that hurt him, but seeing in reality what was left of the man was a complete different thing.

“I can’t believe this is what’s left of a man I knew when I was young.” He moved around the body. “Look at this. it’s so small and so…” Josh removed some dirty stuck on the plastic and a part of what once was Anders face was revealed, Jared felt about to pass out. “This was a man once…”

Jared was looking at it thinking pretty much the same, but also thinking about the fact that what reduced this man to the small pile of rotten meat and bones had been his and Jensen’s mothers. Josh moved to pick the curtain from one end to take it out of the dirt in order to burn it.

“I think I saw a show where the murderers were caught for digging out the body themselves…” Jared said out of nervousness, this was the first time he touched a dead body.

Josh giggled. It was the same sound from Jensen.

“Good thing we’re not the ones that killed this bastard.” The body was pretty much out of the dirt so he pulled the plastic open to spray the remains with fuel. The smell was ten times worst and Jared could see a couple crawlers among the exposed bones.

Coughing and with watering eyes Jared backed away while Jensen’s brother sprayed the bottle of lighter fuel over the remains and climbing out of the hole throwed a lit match box. “Rot in peace.” Josh Ackles claimed as the flames wrapped the body

Jared noticed the similarity with what his militia told people outside the health center. More now that they were brazen and started attacking those rottens they found alone.

Josh took a small ice box from the back of his truck and offered Jared a beer. They sat watching the remains turn into nothing more than ashes without saying much.

“I wish I was here by then…” Josh had his jaw set and his eyes were fix on the smoking pile of ashes, it was far past noon and Jared felt hungry for the first time in over a week.

“I wish I knew about all this.”

Joshua Ackles turned to face Jared before letting out a breath.

“I’m glad that you didn’t, you were a kid, this kind of burden on a kid?” and shaking his head from side to side. “I’d have kept it a secret too.”

He got up and moved to the pile kicking the hot cinder away across the land and without fuss opened his fly peed over the last remains of ember.

“What the fuck, man, that’s disrespectful!”

“Oh. I’m sorry, I disrespected the bastard who raped and made my baby brother kill himself?” and zipping himself up moved to the car. “I guess I’m going to hell.”

Jared sat on the car and thought about this, Anders passed away no long after Jensen and he didn’t came back, just like Jeff, then there was the lady he killed. She came back after she passed away for the abuse suffered from her husband who abused her son after she was gone. Osric had leukemia, The deputy’s mother had cancer too. Jensen killed himself, case after case it had one common denominator. All of them were good people who had bad luck. Maybe that’s why Misha didn’t came back either, because he killed someone.

Jared understood that his brother was a monster, just like the man they burnt. He understood there was a reason why Josh didn’t come back. Jared thought that if he were to die, he wouldn’t come back either. His throat closed, his eyes stung, and Jared slept almost all the way back to the city.

***

Jensen was called by Osric’s mom to her house, the day after Jared kicked him out, by the time he got there Osric was throwing stuff around.

“I can’t make him stop.” Mrs. Chau was in tears. “Please make him stop.” Jensen held her for a second before moving inside Osric’s room.

The boy was feral, covered still in pig blood and crying. “The lamp too, broke the stupid lamp your mom kept here for you.” Jensen took it and offered it to the kid.

“It’s your entire fault!” he shouted angry moving in front of his friend with a wild expression. “You said he was your friend and I believed you, but he’s not!!” he sobbed and covered his eyes. “He’s mean and cruel. Just like everyone else.”

Jensen understood immediately. “Let’s just say I made a mistake.”

“He made fun of me, like when I was sick! Like before I died.” He rubbed his face and Jensen moved closer to hold him.

“He’s an idiot, and I have the bad habit of believing people can change.” The kid faced his friend and gasped, actually both gasped. Jensen saw the dark in his eyes. And Osric saw the giant bluish-green mark of a bruise on his friend’s temple.

“What happened to you?” Osric asked.

“Someone got mad at me.” and Jensen moved a step closer bending to look into Osric’s face. “Look at your eyes, they look a little different.”

The kid smiled and blinked owlishly, surprised to have his friend this close.

“They were hurting last night and then this morning they were like this.”

“Amazing…” and standing up Jensen looked around. “We only need to get rid of the smell.” Osric looked down to his ruined shirt.

“Jared’s friends did this.”

“Well, you just made a mess out of the house.” The kid looked around surprised. “You better rein your temper. You have a grade A mom there.” Jensen pointed to the door. “Don’t go wasting her time with these things.” Osric sighed and pouted. “I’ve learnt something Os, you can’t judge anyone for his friends.” Jensen heard Mrs. Chau close. “Go take a shower, and say you’re sorry so we can go out. Did you heard? I’m taking liquids now, and if you’re not grounded. I’ve been said I can try with ice cream.”

The change in the boy’s demeanor was obvious, arms rose in the air with an excited hoot. “ICE CREAM!” and he ran down the hall to the bathroom.

Mrs. Chau kept crying when Jensen turned and let her hug him.

“He was not himself, he was nothing but a ghost until you came into our lives.”

Jensen wondered how it would affect the kid when he went away with his brother.

That afternoon he tried with strawberry and lemon ice cream, he wanted to be as far away from any memory as possible, he sat on the park with Os and let him pet the stupid stray he kept seeing everywhere.

Jensen saw a group of people getting closer. Militia’s all of them. They as everyone else avoided even eye contact with him, that’s when the nausea hit him and he hardly had time to move the few feet to the trashcan.

The next day he went to see Jared looking for an explanation on why he attacked his young friend, but couldn’t talk to him, the next couple days happened the same over and over, it felt like being bullied again, it hurt.

“Get the hell up from that door, seriously…!” Josh was there. “What are you? A fucking dog?” and pulled his brother and carried him to the only place he knew Jensen would enjoy; To Town’s library.

After Josh got there he made Jensen do something. Every day after treatment Jensen went to community college, he could learn some things, and it’ll make it easier for him if he ever decided he wanted to do more with his life than roam the town like a specter.

“I’m moving with you Josh, why I need any of this shit?” he protested at first.

“Because Jay… I’m not gonna support you forever and I’m a fucking biologist, I won’t have a grunt of a brother, you better find something you like and learn about it.” Josh sighed and facing his baby brother kept talking. “You deserve more than this, more than memories and pain. And mom and dad deserve more than guilt.” Jensen scoffed. “YES! They do, you weren’t here kid. You didn’t see it. They paid for it. It’s time to let it go.”

So Jensen started taking some class about anatomy and human behavior and creative writing. He never mentioned it to Jared because he was ashamed, and his classes were all while Jared was working But now he was grateful to have those hours occupied.

It helped, Jensen never again sat at Jared’s door like a dog put on time out, and he no longer missed him. At least he doesn’t feel the need to go to him every time something is not alright.

By the morning of a Wednesday when Josh said he’d be taking care of things before going home Jensen was out with Osric, the kid was going back to school that fall, after almost five years, they went shopping for school supplies. Osric was nervous. Most of his class were HS juniors and he was going back to 9^th grade.

“Were you nervous?” Asked while sipping on his slushy, another of the things Jensen could have without puking. “Going back to school I mean.”

“Yep.” Jensen was walking down Main Street with his little friend. He was carrying a heavy backpack full of books on his shoulder. “Not to mention I was the oldest one there.”

“Oh no… ” Jensen noticed his little friend distress. He was getting better at emotions now. “Don’t worry, you look quite normal, I’m sure you will just fit and you’ll have a girlfriend in no time.”

Then they heard the engine, Josh had taken them around more than once. They knew the car and Jensen was surprised when he saw Jared sitting next to his brother.

“I don’t want to talk to him.” Osric was looking around, still too humiliated from the incident at the center.

“Okay, let’s go to see if your mom is done with the ladies’ meeting.” And they turned around ignoring Josh’s horn.

Jared felt miserable seeing his once friend walking away from him. He felt he deserved that.

***

The day came and Jared had the keys of his house in hand, he had to drop them with the neighbor. That was the last thing before leaving this place for good. He was just waiting for the taxi. He was nervous, a 21 years old freshman sounded terrible to him. But being the guy leaving without a soul caring was even worst.

He waited for the taxi sitting on the steps, right where Jensen sat. And he couldn’t help thinking about his friend. He missed Jensen but he felt it was all Jensen’s fault. Even when his brain said he was wrong.

Jensen woke up early without a reason and he was watching the news in the kitchen with a glass of orange juice when josh entered running. Without explanation changed channels while rambling about work on his phone.

“… Close to12 million people in the entire world.” The anchorman said. “While scientists have still no idea of why the phenomenon has occurred, they’re certain there will be no more new cases, since no other person was brought back in the last six days.”

Josh kept talking.

“That’ll leave us with a frame of time of what?” he passed in front of Jensen babbling about dates and facts and numbers.

“Get out of the way, jerk…” Jensen Slapped his brother’s bottom making him shriek.

“… for people death in the bracket of a very specific window of time.”

Basically news said there was no reason for one or other person to be back other than a specific period of time of death. Jensen’s head was swimming. But if he had the dates right, Misha wasn’t back because he killed himself on October 12^th, Jared’s brother wasn’t back for the same reason.

“We agreed we will not be releasing info until next month. What happened?” Josh kept talking

“He’s not back for two stupid days.” He felt the tug of something on his lips, a smile. A sad smile pulled at them. “Two stupid days.”

Josh and his mother called him but Jensen just wandered out, he forgot his classes. He forgot everything. Just walked to Jared’s house, he needed to talk to someone more than Osric. He got there when Jared was getting back into his yard, a white cab was coming down the street and he understood immediately what was happening.

“You’re leaving!”

Jared got up and walked to the taxi.

“Go away Jensen.”

“Why are you leaving?” he didn’t got an answer, Jared climbed on the car and left.

Jensen felt lost for a second, until the most terrifying sound ever resonated in his body. He was left out of breath, his head felt heavy and his legs just felt glued to the floor. The pain in his chest so big he fell forward and landed on hands and knees.

His heart had just beaten. His heart was back..

Part 8