Ringing in the Sane

We followed Jared into the empty house. As we got inside, I saw that it looked like no one had been living there for a long time; everything was covered in a thick layer of dust.

"What happened in Tokyo?" I asked Luke quietly. I was curious. Well, anyone would be...

"Nothing," he said in a voice that said drop it now.

"So um... who's the Pixie guy?" I asked him tentatively as I helped him into a chair.

"He's our er... boss I s'pose," he replied, choosing his words carefully. He winced as he sat down, the bleeding in his leg had stopped but the pain had, evidently, remained.

"What's your job?" I asked, curious again. What kind of job gets people kidnapped?

Luke glanced at Jared then back at me. "Oh... nothing. Don't worry."

"Aw, come on, tell me," I pressed on.

"Shut up Pete," Jared interjected, slapping the back of my head, hard. "Now, help me find some food."

He led me into the kitchen; I really didn’t think we’d find any food in here. “Didn’t you say something about going to a... headquarters? In the car?”

“Mmm,” he mumbled, searching through cupboards that looked like they hadn’t been opened in centuries.

“So... are we going there?”

“You know, questions can get you killed,” he said, pulling his attention away from the cupboard and directing it at me.

I paused in thought, I was confused. “So are we going or not?”

He shook his head at me. “Idiot.” He closed the cupboard and brushed the dirt off of his hands. “Well, there’s no food in here,” he said and walked off to where Luke was, abandoning me in the kitchen. “Say anything about Tokyo and you’re fucking dead,” I heard him mutter to Luke quietly.

* * *

It was dark, and I was freezing. Jared had to pick the house without electricity, didn’t he? I shivered and hugged my legs, trying to keep the warmth I had already gathered with me.

I could see the outlines of Luke and Jared from the moonlight streaming in through the windows. Luke was asleep on a couch, snoring quietly, mouth hanging open. Jared and I were both squished up on either side of the other couch. Jared was sleeping but I couldn’t. I was hungry; I hadn’t eaten since before we killed her.

My wife, Jared’s sister. As I watched him sleep, I wondered how he felt about me. Did he hate me for making him kill her? Did it mean anything when he kissed me? And what in the world happened in Tokyo? I was dying to know that. Dying to know.

I felt creepy, watching him sleep. His eyes were moving behind his eyelids, he was dreaming. I wondered what about, but from the look on his face it didn’t look all that pleasant. Whatever it was, it was getting worse. He began to toss and turn, how he managed to do that without falling off the couch was beyond me. He lashed out, his shoe hitting me on the shin.

"Ahh!" I cried out and tumbled off of the couch. So he's a sadist in his sleep as well? Who'd have thought. As I got up from the floor I glanced at Jared’s face. My eyes widened with shock as I saw he was crying. I sat back up next to him, expecting him to push me away or yell at me, but he didn’t. He did something I honestly never thought he would do; he hugged me, choking out a small sob.

“J-Jared?” I was too stunned to say anything else.

“Why did he do it?” he sobbed, clinging to me desperately. “I thought he loved me, he said he did. Why would he lie?”

What on earth was in his dream?

“Who’s 'he'?” I asked; the ability to form sentences had deserted me.

“He was everything.” I didn't reply. Night does strange things to people, it must be something about the way you didn't need to look right at people, you could just talk to the darkness, let it all spill out. And this night was doing really strange things to Jared. A long silence followed, broken only by him sniffling. “It’s been two years, and I still have the dreams.” He closed his eyes, as if he was blocking out a terrible picture. He detached himself from me and sat up, not bothering to wipe the tears from his face. More would just take their place.

“The guy on the phone. That was him.”

I put my hand on his shoulder. “Who… who was he?” I asked him gently.

“He was my boyfriend,” he replied. “His name was Leaton. I met him in Tokyo.” He turned to me, eyes full of pain. “He tried to rape me, Pete. He was like a different person, not him anymore. And… ever since then… I’ve been… different. I can’t get close. Not after that. And who’d want to? I’m an asshole. Why on earth did I stab Luke? Why do I keep burning things? Hurting people? What the fuck is the point? . . . Is this making sense?”

I searched my brain for something comforting to say, anything. Jared had a boyfriend? And he'd done such a terrible thing to him… no wonder he was so insane.

“I’ve tried to keep you away too," he said. "But you're... different." He gave me a small smile, I almost died of shock right then. "And, and you... you don't run away."

I smiled back and took his hand. It wasn't as rough as I had expected it to be. His skin was smooth, and pleasantly cool. We sat like that for a while, hand in hand, and somehow I thought everything would all be all right.

On the other couch, Luke stirred in his sleep, giving out a loud snore. Jared jerked his hand away from mine, cursing under his breath. I opened my mouth to say something, but he decided he didn't want me to and pushed me off the couch.

"Ow!" I yelled as I hit the floor. Jared was looking down at me distastefully, like he regretted telling me everything, regretted trusting me. I lay down on the dusty carpet, if I got back on the couch I knew he would just push me off again. I stared at the dark ceiling while we sat in complete silence.

"I'm sorry that happened to you Jared," I said after a long while. I heard Jared shift on the couch, but he didn't say anything.

At least an hour later, the awkward silence still remained. I was contemplating the meaning of life and whatever else had to do with the price of fish when Luke's mobile went off. I jumped at the sudden sound and sat up, looking around blindly. Luke woke up yelling and dug into his pockets, pulling out his phone. By the time it was in his hand Jared had already got up and was standing beside Luke's couch.

"Who is it?" he asked Luke.

"It's him," Luke replied cautiously. I got on my feet and walked over to the others, them taking no notice of me. I searched Jared's face, trying to see his expression. It was blank, emotionless.

"Should I answer?" Luke asked quickly.

"We need to find Pixie," Jared replied as if to answer the question.

"Is that a yes?"

"Of course it's a yes! Answer it before it stops fucking ringing!" Jared snatched the phone away and pressed the green talk button. "Where the HELL is Pixie?!" he yelled at the phone.

"And we all hope for rescue this far out to sea... Ooh, hello Jared!" the voice that I now knew was Leaton's said in a sing-song voice.

"Where's Pixie?" Jared asked through gritted teeth.

"Oh... wouldn't you like to know? Of course you would. But..."

"But what?" This time Luke was talking. Jared's face was lit up from the phone's screen, he looked like he was going to be sick.

"I really think you should ask him yourself." There were shuffling noises and suddenly a new voice, one I assumed was Pixie's, spoke.

"Jared? Luke? Where are you?" He was trying to sound calm and composed, but there was a hint of shakiness in his voice.

"Some place," Luke supplied. "Pixie... what does he want us to do? Where are you?"

We heard a murmur on the phone, Leaton must have been telling him what to say. "H-he says to come to... headquarters? How do you know where that is!" His last remark was directed at Leaton. There was a mumbled muttering and Pixie's attention came back to us. "With ten thousand, or he'll.. kill me."

"Leado you sick fuck!" Jared yelled into the phone.

"Leado?" Pixie asked in a confused tone. There were more muffled sounds and Pixie's voice dissapeared from the speaker.

"What?" Jared asked sharply.

"That's enough from you,"Leado's voice returned. "Close your eyes darling... drown and be free... So boys, you know the plan. Headquarters. Money. Tomorrow. And Jared, I'll be waiting."

Jared pressed the end button and silence reigned once more.

"Well... the sharks are swimming everywhere, eh?" Luke said, getting a small, bitter laugh from Jared.

"Well, we're on a rescue mission now," I piped up. I was excited, I've always wanted to be a hero.

Jared looked at me in distaste. "Would you shut up?"

"Cut him some slack man," Luke said from the couch. "And sit down so I can see you properly."

"Why don't you stand up?"

"Oh... I dunno. Maybe because someone stabbed me in the fucking leg!" Luke said crossly. "You know, you should think before you just attack people, Jared. I think it's getting infected," he said, peering down at his wound.

"Shut up, or I'll chop it off next time," Jared growled. "Now, where are we gunna get ten thousand dollars from?"