Mania (26 page)

Thirty-Three
Jack

Chloe and I darted across Funtopia trying to find somewhere to hide. I could hear Cooper's guards coming out of the funhouse behind us, but they were just trying to get organized in the chaos and we'd made it out fast enough that no one saw us cut a quick right behind the de-mirrored funhouse. We sprinted deeper into the carcass of the amusement park, running left and right until we finally found a haunted house. The entire front was boarded up.

Grabbing Chloe's hand, I ran around the back and found a small, partially broken window into what seemed to be storage room. Ripping my leather jacket off, I wrapped it around my fist and pushed in the remaining glass. I spread the jacket over the bottom of the pane and reached out for Chloe's foot. She wasn't even an instant behind in understanding my plan. Immediately, she used me to boost herself up and inside, then moved out of my way as I jumped up onto the windowsill and rolled into the room.

“Here,” Chloe whispered as she lifted my jacket out of the window, shaking the bits of broken glass off before handing it back to me.

I didn't speak. I pulled my jacket on, willing my dad to somehow inspire me through his old piece of clothing. Then I took Chloe's hand and ducked out of the storage room, into the haunted house. I could hear the guards closing in on us.

Everything inside was dark. I took my phone from my pocket and turned on the flashlight, shining it around us. An old coffin—a prop—sat half-closed a foot to my right, a skeletal hand still reaching out for anyone who came within reach. Fake spiderwebs now mingled with real ones as they stretched across the ceiling.

I moved quickly into the next room, instinct driving me to get as far into the center of our new hiding spot as possible. My brain flew through option after option as we walked from one nightmarish room to the next. I tried desperately to construct some sort of plan to save all the people I'd grown to care about. No, it was more than that—they'd become my family.

Everything in me ached at losing Libby. We'd left Finn bleeding, and all of them were now in Cooper's crazed hands. If Finn died, I knew Parker would never be the same. If any of them died … but how could I possibly save them all?

My heart burned and ached in my chest and I wished I could stop myself from feeling. I couldn't let the grief, panic, and fear paralyze me right now. I had to fight through it and find a way to think in spite of the pain overwhelming me.

I didn't realize I'd circled back to the same room three times until Chloe gently tugged on my hand for me to stop. I finally held still but kept my back to her, afraid that seeing sympathy on her face would break me.

“Jack.” She spoke my name and then came around to face me. But I studied my feet, shuffling them through the dirt as I suddenly remembered how many things I'd wanted to say to her. The tightness in my throat made it even more painful to push out the words.

“I'm sorry.” I whipped the apology out fast, like ripping off a bandage and hoping it wouldn't sting as much. My shoulders caved in under the weight of everything I felt I'd been trying to carry on my own. “I'm so, so sor—”

I stopped because Chloe was shaking her head. In an instant, she closed the distance between us. Reaching both hands up behind my neck, she pulled me down and kissed me.

It was so sudden and unexpected that my mind seemed to explode in response. Any words I'd wanted to say floated away. Logical thought was gone, but my body knew what to do without it. I wrapped both arms tight around her waist and pulled her in, so close against me it was like she was part of me.

I kissed her the way I'd wanted to for so long now. I took every terrifying emotion that filled me and poured it into showing the one person who was still with me exactly how I felt about her. I kissed her until she was breathless and clinging to me … the same way I was to her.

“I need you to hear me and know … ” I pulled her tighter against my chest as we both caught our breath. “I was wrong to say what I did before, about not wanting Parker to stay a Taker. I'm so sorry.”

“I know. And you can make it up to me later.” Chloe ran her thumb across my jaw. The smile in her voice slipped away as she continued. “For now, we have to find a way to help all the people we just left with Cooper—starting with your brother.”

“I'm pretty sure that isn't my brother.” I sighed as I rested my chin on top of her head, taking comfort in the warmth of being so close to her. “I could see it in his eyes back there. The way he reacted to Finn being shot—it would be hard to convince me that was really him.”

“You think he's Divided again?” Chloe shook her head and put her forehead against my chest. “How can you be sure?”

“I'm fairly certain, but I don't know if anyone could be one hundred percent sure unless they were in his head.” I stepped back and was about to look at her when an idea clicked into place and I pulled her in close again. Reaching into the pocket of my leather jacket, I pulled out my sunglasses and put them on.

“Jack … what's your plan?” Chloe took a step back and squinted at me in the darkness.

“The last person I made eye contact with was Parker.” I was thinking out loud at this point, developing my plan as I went.

I looked around the room, studying it closely for the first time. Any old props that used to be in here had been removed, and I had to admit I was relieved about that. Planning to go into a Divided mind was a scary enough prospect.

“You're going to try to go into his mind?” Chloe looked beyond skeptical. “Is now the best time for that?”

“If we're going to stand a chance, I need Parker back, to help me.” I turned to face her, willing her to agree that this plan had a chance of working. “I need to figure out what's going on in the funhouse. Maybe Parker can tell me. Give me an idea of where they keep their prisoners, or a weakness I can attack. Hopefully I can help him break free of whatever is going on in his head while I'm at it.”

“How do you know you're still connected?”

“Because Cooper knocked him out.” I spit out the words, not trying to hide the venom attached to them. I turned to face her. “Chloe, I don't think we can plan to help Cooper anymore … ”

She took a step back from me involuntarily, but then studied the floor. Her back slouched forward a bit in defeat and I wished I could help her, but this was a realization she had to come to on her own.

“The Cooper who I'd hoped we could find is gone.” Her eyes were sad, but she shuddered slightly and then nodded. “We can't let him get the chance to hurt everyone anymore. Do what you have to do.”

Reaching out, I squeezed her hand, knowing there was nothing I could say to make this situation any better for her. The only way to help was to try to stop Cooper from hurting anyone else, as quickly as possible.

I cleared a spot on the floor near one of the doors. There was only one entrance and one exit from the room; we could escape if they came in looking for us, but they'd have to know we were here in order to ambush and surround us. And disturbing as our location was, it was our best option. There must've been some truly creepy props in here at one point, because the faded red paint on the wall and floor was obviously intended to look like blood splatters. Huge windows had been painted on the opposite wall, their cracking paint displaying naked tree branches and creepy, elongated shadows.

I rolled my jacket into a pillow and settled down on the only spot on the concrete where it didn't look like a massacre had occurred.

“Wait, Jack.” Chloe moved over to the place I'd cleared and sat down. “Are you sure you can handle this? I've been in Parker's mind when he was Divided. He's incredibly powerful. A strong Divided mind can crush a regular Watcher. After what I saw, I'm certain he's strong enough. And if he isn't the one in control … ”

I made certain my own concern about that didn't show on my face. “He wouldn't hurt me, Chloe.”

“As I said, you might not be dealing with him.”

“He's still in there. I'll be okay.” I kissed her once more, softly, and then handed her one of my knives. “If someone comes while I'm out … you know what to do.”

She gave me a stiff nod and turned her gaze to the opposite door.

I closed my eyes, hoping Parker was the one I found in the Hollow.

Thirty-Four
Parker

I was in a haze of blackness. Not sleeping, not awake, but it comforted me and held me like a blanket. I felt like I was wrapped in a cozy cocoon where nothing could get to me. So this was what the mind of a Taker was like for a Taker. It wasn't nearly as hostile as it had been when I was a Watcher …

Until something started fighting it.

It felt like someone was hacking away at pieces of my warm cocoon, and I wanted them to stop. Bit by bit, one piece of me felt exposed, then another, then another. It was awful and terrifying.

“Parker!” I heard Jack's voice yell my name again and again, but I didn't answer. This could be another cruel trick my mind was playing on me. Like fake Addie ripped apart my reality, fake Jack was now tearing apart my mind, and I wished he would stop.

“Please, please … ” Jack was closer now, and he sounded so tired. “I need to know you're okay, Parker. You're my brother and I can't handle losing you too. Please help me find you!”

There was another noise now, and it actually sounded like he might be fighting back his emotions—mixed in with the occasional string of curses. I was so shocked that I listened for a minute more, just to be sure I'd heard right. Jack didn't ever get emotional like that. I was pretty sure he didn't have feelings, let alone allow people to see them.

“Jack?” I said his name tentatively, unable to resist the idea of my tougher-than-nails brother possibly in pain. All noise stopped.

“Parker?” he screamed, and it felt like he was yelling into my brain.

“Shhh … geez, I'm right here,” I mumbled, rubbing my hands against the sides of my head where my migraines always started. Jack continued to bash through toward me until I could see him through cracks in the hazy shell.

“I'm here too,” I heard my voice say, and Darkness showed up a few feet in front of me, protecting us even from a possible hallucination.

Jack finally broke all the way in, looking like he'd been fighting a war. His eyes were watering. His nose was streaming blood and it trickled from both his ears. When he got through to me, he took three steps forward, but skidded to a halt when he saw Darkness sitting a few feet away from me.

“I'm so sorry I couldn't get you out of there.” He looked sincerely remorseful, but I still wasn't sure what to think.

“You left me there?” I asked, ready for the Jack hallucination to attack me at any moment.

Jack sighed. “After Cooper knocked you out, he was shooting wildly and too many people were getting hit. I had to leave.”

“He hit Finn … ” My voice faded as I remembered that my best friend could be dying in the real world and I couldn't do anything to help him.

“I could see that it wasn't you, Parker. Even from across the room, I could tell.” Jack looked unsteady and dropped onto his knees on the ground. “Last time, you thought you might get taken over by him permanently—do you remember what you asked me to do if that happened?”

I did remember, but it felt like a completely different time and place, a different world even.

Darkness looked over at me and then answered for us both. “I asked you to make sure I couldn't hurt anyone else. But we haven't hurt anyone.”

Jack nodded, panting slightly, and then said, “But I don't know if you're hurting Parker.”

“I
am
Parker,” Darkness snarled. I could feel his anger growing. “Why does no one understand that? We are the same.”

“You aren't the same.” Jack shook his head, but his voice didn't sound like he was trying to attack. He sounded sincere. And everything he said and did was making sense. Could this be the real Jack? I'd never hallucinated in the Hollow as a Watcher, so why would I do it as a Taker? Maybe it was better to just assume Jack was real, until he proved he wasn't …

“You are different and opposite,” Jack went on. “Together you're Parker. But separated like this—and locking each other up in the corner of your minds—you'll never be everything you could be if you don't figure out how to live and work in here together.”

“It doesn't matter, Jack. We're both going to die anyway.” I rolled away from them and toward the dark corners of my mind. “Who cares who is in charge when that happens?”

Darkness spoke to Jack too, keeping his voice lower this time. “
This
is why I've been in charge … ”

“It's still my mind too,” I muttered. “You can't whisper so quietly that I can't hear you.”

Jack cleared his throat, and when I rolled to face them, they both were watching me with expressions of deep concern on their faces.

“I need you to help me,” Jack said.

“I can't.” Arguing took a lot of effort, so I just left it at that.

Unluckily, Darkness knew my thoughts and spoke for me. “He's giving up, Jack. He thinks we're probably better off dead than living as a Taker. You told us how terrible they are and now we've witnessed it firsthand. He thinks our dad would probably rather we die than choose to live like one of them.”

“No!” Jack's voice rang out with authority. “I know I haven't told you much about Dad yet, even though you asked me again and again. I'm sorry. I made mistakes and I want to fix them, but you're robbing me of that chance.”

He scooted across the floor toward me, his expression desperate.

“The first thing you should know about Dad is that he would
never
want you to choose death over being a Taker. Never, Parker.” Jack seemed so positive that it made me begin to question all the things I believed. “You think you want to know Dad? Let me tell you what he would say if he could see you doing this. He would say he'd rather you die than give up in the way you have—the way you are right now.”

Outrage shot through my veins and I sat up. “You have no idea what this has been like. What we've been through.”

“Then he'd say, ‘You're tired?'” Jack shrugged, but there was something nervous in his eyes as he continued. “'Big deal. So is everyone. Look around, Parker—you're in a Night Walker camp. Stop whining and fight!'”

“
Now
you decide to start telling me about Dad? Great timing, Jack.” Pure anger fueled me and I moved closer. “Cooper has been putting me through hell. Do you have any idea what it takes to turn a Watcher into a Taker? It takes torture—a full-on, constant attack to the body and mind. You think I'm just tired? You can't even begin to understand … ”

Darkness had no use for my words. Instead, he dove straight for Jack, but Jack was ready. He sank down into the black haze and then floated back up again as Darkness landed on his other side.

Jack turned to face me. “
You
are the real Parker. You need to work with your angry other half over there—”

“He calls me Darkness,” Darkness said, eyeing me warily.

“You need to work with Darkness to find some of that fight left in you. I think that right now, he's your best asset. You both need to help me if you want to save yourself. And Finn, Addie, Mia, your mom—everyone you care about.”

Then Jack moved closer and wrapped both arms around me. He hugged me tight against his chest. “You're my brother, Parker. You're the only family I have left, and … I love you. I want to tell you everything you want to know and probably some things you don't—about Dad, about me—but you
have to stick around
. I expect you to fight by my side. Don't give up on me, because I will
never
, ever give up on you.”

It was what I'd always wanted from Jack. His warmth flowed through me and filled me with new life. This was no hallucination. My brother was here, and he wanted me to fight. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him back.

“How do you think I can help?” I asked, and my fear was evident.

“I don't know … you're inside their prison. Can you tell me how to get to you? Where are they keeping you?” Jack sat back and looked at me.

“It's deep underground. That's all I really know.” I shook my head, remembering something.

Darkness sat in the same spot where he'd landed after his failed tackle, but he was watching us now and all signs of his anger were gone. Instead, he looked intrigued … even excited at the prospect of us taking action to get out of this mess. But something was making him hesitate. “This is all great and good,” he said to Jack, “but I don't think you're real.”

“Why not?” Jack shot me a look of confusion.

“Because the last person we made eye contact with wasn't you.” Darkness looked back and forth between Jack and me meaningfully. “It was Cooper.”

Jack opened his mouth to respond, but then closed it, thinking. He was quiet for a minute before slowly nodding. “So both Cooper and I are connected to you, Parker … like we were with your mom. Remember how the two of us connected to her and went into her dreams so I could teach you to be a Watcher? This is like that, only Cooper is still awake, so it's just us right now.”

Darkness looked like he was piecing it all together, and then he nodded. “I prefer you to him anyway.”

Jack's face broke into a small smile. “Thanks … I think.”

“So, I'll soon be in Cooper's head?” I groaned, thinking of the times I'd been in there as a Watcher.

“Yes, if you don't wake up. I'm not really sure how a Taker-to-Taker connection would work.” Jack shook his head and frowned, muttering, “I should've asked Chloe.”

“You're still with Chloe?” I asked, realizing I'd been too busy worrying about whether Jack was real to ask what was happening in the real world. Jack hesitated, but then filled me in on all the details. I felt sick with each piece of information. Libby dead, Finn shot and possibly bleeding out, Addie, Mia, and Mom all in the hands of the Takers. Chloe and Jack hiding away in some spooky haunted house … it seemed too much to overcome.

“How do you expect us to help you fight this?” I groaned, not sure whether to panic or go back into hiding again. Even Darkness looked like he'd consider giving up to be a viable option at this point.

“I—” Jack looked determined for an instant before his face fell. “I don't know … but I'm open to suggestions. Anything that can get everyone out of here alive would be great.”

“Well … I think I
used
to support staying alive.” I tried to smile for the first time in what felt like forever. It felt surprisingly good. “I could probably get on board with that again.”

“Good. I'm very happy to hear that.” Jack waved his hand to gesture to Darkness and me. “I honestly don't think it's safe right now to try to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. But as the more complete side, Parker needs to be in primary control—then maybe you two can try to figure out how to work the both-sides-as-one angle a little more effectively.”

I'd gotten used to the dulled sensations of the backseat, but I knew Jack was right. As much as I'd been acting like it, I really didn't want to give up. “I think I can handle that,” I said, and then looked over at Darkness. I saw Jack's shoulders visibly tense while we waited for his response.

“I'm game. It turns out that being in charge all the time is way more tiring than I ever expected it to be. I would've turned this whole mess over to Parker already if he'd been at all up for it.” Darkness flopped onto his back. “God, I need a nap.”

Jack laughed … then stopped abruptly and sat up completely straight, looking back and forth between Darkness and me with his mouth hanging partially open. It took a full ten seconds, and me lifting my eyebrows at him, before he said, “I think I might have a crazy idea.”

“Then you're in luck.” Darkness lifted his head with a bit of a wild grin. “According to Parker, crazy is my forte.”