Les Oiseaux de Mauvaise Augure

To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to suffer
The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them: to die, to sleep
No more; and by a sleep, to say we end
The heart-ache, and the thousand Natural shocks
That Flesh is heir to? 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die to sleep,
To sleep, perchance to Dream; Ay, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause.

"You're lying to me," I whispered.

"I'm not," Shadows retorted. His face was calm and quiet and terrifying, but I was not afraid. I was not afraid, I was angry.

"You are." He simply stood up, moving around his desk and out the door. I did not struggle while he was gone, but I let my heart beat faster and faster with every passing second. What would I do? If he... if he was....

As his heavy footsteps returned, time seemed to slow down. Little by little, as if my mind was trying to delay the inevitable. His footsteps were so heavy and so slow and my head was whirring and my ears were ringing. I closed my eyes. I jumped when there was a very loud thud. The ringing in my ears stopped, and my head stopped whirring. I opened my eyes. My breathing hitched and my throat started to close up as tears started to fall. I leant into myself, balling my fists tightly.

Joey laid on the floor, bruised, bloody, and silent. His form was blurry through my tears. I remained as silent as I possibly could. No matter how much I wanted to scream. Scream as loud as I could... I couldn't. I didn't. I remained silent. Sad.

Alone. Again.

"You see... he got in the way, Charity. Do you see, Charity?" I closed my eyes tightly, not looking at him or Joey or anything else.

He's dead.

"Okay, I know you're angry, but you'll get over it. Promise." I suddenly felt his hand on my head, gripping onto my hair. It was not soothing or loving or caring. It was disgusting. So disgusting and ugly. I kept my eyes closed. Tears still fell and my breathing remained uneven. I couldn't control that. Still not strong enough....

Jimmy where are you?

"Why Anna?" He sat down at my feet, bringing his hands from my hair, down my face, chest, and legs, and resting them on my knees. I still didn't open my eyes. I remained silent. "Of all names, why Anna?" I shook my head.

I'd always wanted to name my first daughter Anna.

His hands traveled back up my legs, traveling to my inner thighs.

"Open your eyes." I debated ignoring him again, but his hands were... too close. I opened my eyes slowly, glancing back up to meet his own. He smiled sickly. "Ah, there you are." I held his eye contact. His eyes were angrier-looking than they used to be. More angry and more hollow, if that makes any sense.

Jimmy where did you go?

"Do you want to spend a bit of quality time with him? Or should I just go right ahead and bury him out back? Or should I burn his body and throw the ashes in the reservoir?" His hands got even closer. "What would you have me do?" I grit my teeth, swallowing hard.

"Leave him. Here. With me." He held his smile.

"Of course, Charity." He stood up. "Pay your respects." He left as slowly as he came. And, I finally broke down. Hard. I struggled to get out of the bonds of the duct tape. My eyes already hurt from the salty tears and holding them shut so tightly. My lips hurt and my throat was closed-up.

"A-Anna." My heart jumped when I heard him. He spoke to me. His voice was gravelly and hoarse and strained. I opened my eyes, looking at him as fast as I could. "Ann..."

"Oh God, Joey. Joey, Joey, Joey, you're alive." I started to cry harder, out of relief. His eyes were half-open. It looked like he was having trouble staying awake.

"Sh... Sh... he doesn't.... know." His breathing was hard.

"Oh God. Joey, what did they do to you?" He wheezed.

"He beat me... strangled me. Thought I was... dead. Almost was...."

"Joey, God, Joey, I am so sorry. I am so sorry." My breathing hitched again and I cried harder. "I'm going to get us out of here. I promise. I promise. I'm so sorry, Joey." He started to crawl towards me.

"Anna..." My heart skipped a beat in panic.

"Wait, Joey, he'll know. If you move, he'll know." He shook his head lightly, focusing on crawling.

"I can get you out of that duct tape... and we'll leave. We can... get out of here. There was... a fire escape in... the room where they kept me. The next... room over."

"He's gonna come back, Joey. He's gonna come back." My heart skipped another beat as I realized what had to happen. "Joey, you have to leave. By yourself." He stopped moving. "You'll have a chance to get help. I can buy you some time. They won't notice you're gone. Can you stand?" He was silent for a moment.

"I can't leave you here with them. I can't." He looked at me with his beautiful green eyes. I hoped I would see those eyes again someday.

"Joey, I'll be fine." I looked deep into his eyes, taking a mental picture of his beauty and serenity. "I promise." His jaw tightened. He stood up slowly and painfully. He was hunched, holding onto his ribs and stomach. He hobbled over to me, and I let more tears fall. He put his hand on my bruised cheek, caressing it carefully.

"I'm going to save you, Anna. I will see you again. And, after this, I'm going to take you out on a date." I let out a sad laugh, letting myself smile. He leaned in and kissed me gently. I leaned in further and pressed my lips to his harder. He smiled into the kiss. He finally had to pull away. "I've been waiting for that," he said hoarsely. He stroked my cheek softly with his thumb. "Everything's going to be okay." I nodded once, matching his smile.

He took a step back then. I watched as he limped to the door, leaning against the door jam, checking the hallway quickly. He glanced back at me, smiling sadly one last time.

"I'll be back." I nodded once again. He walked out into the hallway, and everything was quiet and still.

Everything's going to be okay.

Half of me believed him.