Psych Investigation Episodes: Episode 1 (A Young Adult Scifi / Fantasy) (55 page)

“
I don’t know,” Jack said
aloud.

Can we go home?

“
I don’t know how to take
us there,” Jack answered.

The darkness returned, casting them into a
void, only to reappear a moment later, this time inside of a home.
Jack suspected it was the one carrying the feeling of darkness, the
one he’d seen from the street.

I don’t want to be here,
Requiem
said.

“
I don’t either. I don’t know how to
go back.”

The home was rundown and filthy. There was
trash everywhere and a stench of alcohol. Dust and grime were as
much residents of the home as the people that lived there. It was a
small place with two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a den. There were
pictures on the wall with faces of a woman scratched
out.

Our mother,
Requiem said.
She left
us.

There was a whimpering sound, and Jack reeled
in surprise at the sight of the two small children huddled together
behind him. They were tiny, perhaps no older than five or six years
of age. They were sitting against a wall, almost hidden behind the
thick layers of dust that covered them. Their clothing was torn,
nothing more than scraps on unwashed bodies.

“
Let me go,” one of them
begged.

“
Never, Sandra,” answered the
other.

“
But why does it always have to be
you? Anthony, please, I don’t wanna let you do it again. I can do
it too.”

“
He doesn’t like you,” Anthony
answered. “I’d never let him hurt you the way he hurts me, Sandra.
Never, ever, ever. I promise you.”

“
Who are you two?” Jack asked
them.

I don’t think they can hear you,
Jack.

“
That girl, is she you?”

Once upon a time.

Jack knelt before the small child and looked
into her eyes. There wasn’t much madness in her face, just deep
dark eyes, filled with life and wonder. They were strikingly
similar to Jack’s, but they were not his own. No, they were already
changing. In them he could see the beginnings of madness, spreading
along the corners of her pupils.

From outside the home Jack could hear the sound
of keys being dangled, and the two siblings embraced each other in
a hug.

“
Not again,” Sandra begged. “Please,
don’t let him do it anymore, Anthony. Let me go, let me take some
of the pain.”

“
Never,” Anthony said, kissing his
sister on the forehead. “I’d never let that happen to
you.”

The door opened and a large, hairy man entered.
His face was wrinkled, his breath reeking of alcohol. Jack could
smell it from across the room. Though, even without the scent it
was obvious. In the man’s hand, he clutched a bottle of whiskey for
dear life, some of the liquid still falling down his mouth like
drool. He had a sickening grin, and he allowed himself a hearty
laugh.

“
I’m home, Darlings,” he announced.
“Where’s my special boy?”

Ruin—no, Anthony—tensed, grabbing his sister
tighter. “He looks like he’s had a lot tonight,” he
whimpered.

The man knew exactly where to look. Somehow,
Jack knew that they’d always hugged the same wall.

I don’t want to see this,
Requiem
said.
Please.

“
I can’t make it stop.”

The man walked up to the two shivering children
and bent down, his disgusting alcohol-breath bearing down on top of
them. “Anthony, daddy’s home. I’ve been waiting all day to see my
boy.”

“
No!” Sandra shouted. “Let me
go.”

The man looked at her in disgust and slapped
her across her small face, making the child bleed. Jack forced
himself to watch. He needed to understand.

“
Don’t hurt her! I won’t fight you,
Dad.” Anthony held out his hand, and the father grabbed it. Pulling
him into the nearest room and slamming the door behind him, all the
while humming to himself.

No more, please!

It wasn’t long before the screams started, and
Jack wanted to be gone as badly as Requiem.

Again there was darkness, and again it faded.
This time, the children were older. Already, Jack could see the
madness in Requiem’s eyes taking form, growing, and a prelude to
what she’d become. They were in a park, with jungle gyms, slides,
and see-saws. They were sitting at a table together, and across
from them sat a man.

Redemption
, Requiem said.
Our only
true father.

“
Do you two understand?” the man
asked. He was covered from head to toe in brown garb. Only his eyes
were visible, and Jack was taken aback by them. They were the most
powerful and commanding eyes he’d ever seen.

“
Yes,” Anthony answered. “Everything
that’s happened to us, it happened because we weren’t strong enough
to make it stop. Things are only right and wrong because the people
in power make them so.”

“
And what will you do?” the man
asked.

“
We are going to rip out our
father’s still beating heart and show it to him. What else would we
do?”

“
Your choices are your own,” the man
said. “Make them wisely.”

Yet again darkness enveloped Jack, only to fade
and again Jack reappeared inside the home. This time, it was
different There was blood everywhere—on the walls, on the floor,
even on the ceiling. Lying on the ground, covered in a pool of
blood, was their father. He had been tortured, to the point of
absurdity. His eyes absent from their sockets, his skin flayed, and
his heart removed. Jack tried to feel pity for the man, but he
couldn’t bring himself to feel even a drop of it.

There was a splash on the blood-stained
floor—it was a single tear from Sandra. Anthony turned to her. “Let
this be the last tear you ever have to shed, Sister.”

The sadness left her eyes immediately, replaced
with the madness Jack had come to know as her current self. “Never
again, Darling. I’ll never cry again.”

She laughed, and so did her brother. The two
stood in a puddle of blood, and for close to ten minutes poured out
years’ worth of missed laughter. The only tears they shed were ones
of joy. “Anthony, such a pitiful name. Call me Ruin from now on,
Sister.”

“
Sure, if you call me Requiem,
Darling!”

They held hands, and they laughed. “We are
amazing,” Ruin said. “Look at the things we can do. Sister, what
say you and me change the world together? We can do things no one
else can. Why don’t we tear this world down and rebuild it from
scratch?”

“
Sounds lovely, Darling.”

“
Don’t ever forget our promise,”
Ruin said.

“
I won’t, Anth—Ruin. Never again. We
will never cry again.”

Jack opened his eyes, his hands still clutching
Requiem’s in a tight grip. Only a moment had passed, and it was a
moment that felt like hours. Requiem cupped Jack’s face and looked
at him with pleading eyes. “How? How did you do that?”

“
I don’t know,” Jack said. “But I
understand now. I’m so sorry, Sandra.”

Everyone in the room turned to give Jack a
confused stare. “Sandra?” Paro asked. “What are you talking about,
Jack?”

Cemmera shrugged. “I don’t even care. I don’t
know what just happened between you two, but it’s killing time. Out
of my way, Harris.”

Jack looked down at the dead form of
Ruin—Anthony—and into the maddened gaze of Cemmera. Much in the way
that Sandra once shared the same eyes as Jack, Cemmera held the
same eyes as their father. It was a look Jack would never forget.
It was the look of a predator, the look of evil.

Jack let the anger take hold of him. He let it
grow, allowed it to seep into every fiber of his being. When it was
too much to handle, Jack felt his emotions fade, he felt them
recede within himself. It was fine. There were things in this world
Jack didn’t want to feel.

“
What’s with the Harris-boy’s eyes?”
Cemmera asked.

All at once the members of Paro’s team, still
situated behind Jack, rushed over. “What did you just say?” Michael
yelled out. “Cemmera, did you just say that there’s something wrong
with his eyes? God help us all.”

Jack stood and turned to face the members of
his team. Michael stopped mid-run and fell back on his rump. Sarah
paused and eyed Jack with fear. Kazou stopped moving and took a
step back. Only Melissa and Paro came closer. Jack walked across
the room to meet them.

“
Jack, are you okay?” Paro asked.
“Please, talk to me.”

“
I am fine,” Jack said. “And
you?”

“
J-Jack,” Melissa said. “What are
you feeling?”

Jack thought about the question for a moment.
Just what was he feeling? Jack wasn’t certain he felt anything. He
remembered being this way before.

Ah,
Jack remembered.
So that’s
what I did to Andy. I wonder why I can’t seem to remember these
things later on? I suppose I should feel disappointed in myself,
but I’m not sure I know what disappointment feels
like.

When Jack spoke to them, his voice was plain,
robotic, lacking of any emotion. “I don’t feel anything,
Melissa.”

“
What do you mean? Jack, what’s
going on?”

Jack shrugged. “I’m supposed to save Requiem. I
think I wanted to do that. Though, now I’m no longer sure I care.
When I’m like this, I don’t understand why human life is so
important. Guilt, sadness, these things have no meaning to me
anymore.”

Michael and Kazou backed up even farther, but
Paro and Melissa went towards him. “Jack, tell us, what’s happened
to you?”

“
I’m not really sure. I remember
this happening to me before. I don’t know, I guess I’m on
autopilot. I mean, I’m still me, I’m just a better me, I guess. I
don’t feel anything. Yet, I know that I can’t stay like this. It’s
weird, you know? I know there’s something I really want to do, but
at the same time I wonder if I should still do it. It doesn’t
matter to me either way, but I know that it will later on. I guess
I only have two choices. Do what I wanted, or don’t. I might as
well, I mean, from what I can see, it’s the only logical choice. I
know that if I don’t do what I wanted, I’ll feel disappointment
later on, even if I’m unable to feel any right now.”

Neil whispered something into Cemmera’s ears
and she nodded. “Look, Harris, I don’t know what in the hell is
going on with you, but you can take your Carebear drama somewhere
else—you’re killing the mood. As for you, sweetie,” she said,
looking down at Requiem. “I’m going to have fun with you. Did ya
like the way I killed dear old brother?”

Jack kicked off his back foot, and in a single
leap, he crossed the distance of the terminal and landed between
Cemmera and Requiem. “We never got to be properly introduced, did
we Cemmera?”

“
Kid’s eyes are freaking me the hell
out,” Joseph murmured.

Cemmera ignored the remark. “What are you
playing at, Harris?”

Jack spoke. His voice was robotic. There was
neither inflection nor emphasis on any of his words. “Well, let me
introduce myself. My name is Jack Harris, and I’m sixteen years
old. I love popcorn, and my favorite movie is ‘Back to the Future.’
Oh, yeah, and can you please do me a huge favor and
die?”

Cemmera chuckled at his words. “Wait, what?
Harris, get lost, before I add you to my kill-list on the grounds
of interference. Damned kids these days.” She knelt down with the
knife, intent on ending Requiem’s life. Jack grabbed her arm, hard
enough to break bone. Cemmera howled in pain.

“
Ouch!” Cemmera screamed out. “Help,
I’m being attacked by a rogue Psych! Neil, he’s using
reinforcement.”

Paro and the rest of the team remained
motionless as Neil charged at Jack. “Harris!” the man yelled. “How
dare you attack our team-leader?”

Neil drew back his arm, an attack meant to take
Jack’s head off. Jack knew he would be amazed—if he were capable of
such a feeling—at just how weak the Reinforcer was.