Open Up Your Eyes

"Hey!" Jack exclaimed as he glanced from the road he was supposed to be paying attention to as he drove in pouring down rain to the strange, soaked boy in his passenger seat whose nose was still bleeding and had yet to be wiped away. Jack wanted to reach over and grab a tissue from his glove compartment, but he didn't know this boy one bit, and he was slightly scared he might react violently to Jack abruptly reaching over him to a place most people keep guns in there car. He decided against scaring the boy anymore than he probably already was. Jack did just find him in front of what looked like a fucking wreck. The car the kid had been staring at when Jack pulled over had been flipped, the sides crushed in like a giant had picked it up and squeezed the car too tightly, and the window shield had burst into spiderwebs of shattered glass still too stubborn to leave its place in the car. Jack hadn't bother to check if anyone was inside at the time as he had pulled over and rolled down the window to ask the boy if he was okay, and didn't even get a chance to ask if anyone was hurt before the boy walked calmly to his passenger door and hopped into the car. Jack would have found it weird any other time, but he was on the verge of panicking himself, more so than the boy who had actually been in the car accident.

"Y-you never answered me back there, kid." Jack said -still trying to get a response out of the boy who hadn't talked since Jack picked him up. He simply stared forward, a dark look crossing his face as his lifeless eyes watched the road, "Are you okay? Was anyone else hurt? Should I stop and call an ambulanc-"

Finally the boy spoke. His voice was low, monotonous, and quiet. Jack found it chilling as he mumbled, "We need to evacuate immediately. Get the stable patients out now."

Jack honestly had no idea what the kid was talking about. All he understood was 'evacuate immediately', which is something he wasn't so against doing. Except at the moment, with the way the boy's eyes seemed glassy and doll-like, Jack kind of wished he was doing so alone. He was still worried for the kid's safety, of course. He had a gash on his forehead that looked ready to gush out more blood than Jack's stomach could handle at any minute while his nose was still trickling out the red liquid that was causing Jack to be nauseous in the first place over his lips and down his chin onto his dull, yellow shirt and into his lap along with bruises littering across his jaw and cheeks, and there were probably more injuries Jack couldn't even see at the moment. Jack feared the boy would pass out and he'd be left to take care of him himself without even knowing his name or where he came from. He didn't even know if he had parents to call about all of this.

"Do you need me to call the hospital? You look really hurt..." Jack's eyes flitted to the boy who instantly jeered at the word hospital. His body convulsed up against the restrictions of his seat belt as he screamed, "No! No! No! No!"

"Okay! Okay. I-I won't call the hospital. Calm down, calm down." Jack surrendered as he slowed the car in case he needed to duck and roll the fuck out of there. Outbursts were the last thing Jack wanted to deal with while driving and this kid looked fucking insane and unpredictable. He noticed his own arms shaking as his grip on the steering wheel tightened, "D-do you need anything at all then? Is there no one you can call?"

"Doctor, they've escaped. Everyone from the West Wing is out." He whispered seriously as he reached forward to put his hands on the dash. His nails scraped against the hard plastic there as he growled, "Shoot them. It's the only way to protect the others."

Jack glanced at the boy with a bad feeling in his gut. He was shaking his head frantically -blood slinging onto the windows and even a bit on Jack. The boy didn't seem to care. His mutterings were getting louder and louder as Jack slowed the car as the ran slicked the roads with acid-y puddles. It was getting harder and harder to see through the rain as it poured, bits of hail falling with it. Jack felt a chill slip up his spine as the boy suddenly started shrieking with a blood curdling scream. His heart was racing but it stopped to hear the boy scream, "Shoot them! Shoot them! Kill them! Don't let them get away!"

Jack slowed the car to a stop. He glanced over to see the boy had settled almost instantly. The engine purred quietly as Jack sat back in his seat to take a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves as he listened to the loud patter of the rain against the roof top.

"Shooting?" The boy asked quietly, "They're shooting?" He asked a little louder as he looked around the car, "From where? Where are they?! Please don't!! Please stop!!" He screamed.

"No one's shooting." Jack said quickly as he watched the boy shake as he ducked his head and covered it with his arms while rocking back and forth, "It's the rain. It's okay." He reassured.

"So much blood." The boy whimpered quietly as he sat up again, "I feel trapped. Why do I feel so trapped inside my body?" He scratched his neck quickly, turning to look out the window as he did. Jack could see blood dotting across his skin from his red fingernails. He wanted to stop him but he was terrified if he touched the boy he'd have another fit, maybe even lash out and hurt Jack, "There's bodies everywhere. There's so many dead. Friends. No, enemies. They were a threat. I loved them." He rambled -words jumbled as the scratching quickened, his nails deepened into his neck, and the blood got worst, "Please don't hurt them, they're my children. We have to do whatever it takes to save ourselves! Don't go out there, the angels won't want you. Under, hide under the water they wont hurt you there. Run like hell! We can't do this, they're people, John. Why are they doing this?"

Jack didn't know what to say. It was like the boy didn't even know he was inside that car with him. He rambled to himself but Jack couldn't stand the blood gushing from his neck. He reached forward and gently pulled his hand from the skin -watching as blood spewed out and spilled down his shoulder and all over his shirt. His fingers still moved in a scratching motion where Jack held it as his leg bounced up and down vigorously.

"Alex!" He shouted -tears forming in his eyes, "Alex! Run! Get out of here! Alex!!!" He shrieked.

"Hey." Jack said calmly. His voice was soft but it didn't seem to help because the boy began to writhe in his seat. Jack let go of his wrist as his back arched and his screams got louder again. His body was shaking, his brown eyes as wide as his mouth, and the blood still gushing from his wounds, "Stop." Jack said quickly. He could see the tears falling down the boy's face and at the moment he was so terrified he almost thought he was going to start crying too so he shouted, "Stop!" Loudly.

It seemed to snap him out of it because he fell from his freak possession attack or whatever was going on with him and he began sobbing loudly. He wrapped his arms around his knees and kicked the glove box roughly as he screamed, "I'm trapped! I'm alone! Help me! I'm drowning... Please help me..."

His voice finally quietened enough for Jack to take a breath and whisper, "I'm trying to help you but you won't talk to me. Just tell me what you want me to do, please." He begged -hoping, praying, his words were getting through to the boy.

His eyes fluttered to Jack as his head lolled over to the side. Softly, he whispered, "You want to help me?"

"Yes. Just tell me what to do. I'll help you, I promise." Jack answered -relieved the brunet was finally acknowledging him.

"Please drive me away from this place. Far, far away. I can't take all the shooting. I can't take it." He whimpered -covering his ears with his hands as he continued to cry quietly, "I can't take it. I can't take it. It's so loud. Bang. Bang. Bang. So many people are dead. It's all Alex's fault."

Jack listened to the boy as he shifted to face the front again and started to slowly drive through the rain. He could still see the headlights from the flipped car he had picked the boy up in in his rear-view mirror. They flickered as he looked at him until suddenly cutting out. His eyes flitted over to see the boy staring behind them where the headlights once shined as two dots through the blackness of the night. Jack's headlights weren't shining a very far path for them. In fact, it was about two feet in front of them so he made sure to drive slow as he quietly asked, "C-can you explain a little clearer? I... I'm not following you. I'm sorry."

"Me?" He suddenly asked, "Why me? Why is it me?" He was quiet again. Like how he first was when Jack picked him up. He was mumbling under his breath and looking down at his lap, "You should burn in hell. Take your medicine. You'll be out soon. The suspect is 6'0", light brown hair, brown eyes, Caucasian male. Suspected to be on foot. Could be volatile and dangerous. It's unknown if he is armed. Suspected to be... alone...." He trailed off, looking down at his lap as he whispered, "I'm so alone." Jack could see tears trailing down his face again. He wanted to comfort him but he honestly thought he had just heard him recite a fucking wanted persons warning describing himself. Jack was scared he might have a murderer in his car. Maybe that's why he was talking about a shooting.

"Who's Alex?" Jack decided to ask as he glanced at the boy who was shaking his head again.

"Alex Gaskarth. Number 120-77C-594200. Specimen eight. Experiment failure." He whispered.

"Experiment failure?" Jack asked. He couldn't quite get his head around everything the kid had been going on about except for maybe one thing, "Are you Alex?" He asked quickly -glancing at the brunet who nodded slowly.

"Experiment failure. Experiment failure. Experiment failure!!" He shouted as he slammed his hands on the dash. He glared down at his lap before slipping open the glove compartment and rustling through the papers and objects Jack had inside. Jack glanced at him when suddenly he reached out and grabbed the steering wheel. So shocked by the abrupt movement Jack jerked the steering wheel to the left but Alex pulled it to the right just in time for a deer to jump out in front of them and clear over the hood of the car -it's back hoof kicking the window shield and busting it, "Warning, warning, warning." He repeated, "Perimeter breach, perimeter breach. The experiments are escaping. Someone call-" He stopped abruptly. Jack's wide eyes were still staring at the road -the crack the only thing proving to him that there had in fact been a deer he almost killed, that could have killed them if they had hit it, if it hadn't been for the boy who hadn't even been paying attention to the road while muttering sentences he seemed to string together randomly.

"Jack?" He asked, looking at the man who was frozen gripping the steering wheel for life with his eyes wide and staring at the hoof-sized crack in his window shield, "Jack, pay attention." He said, "I don't want to have to explain all of this again. This is the last time!"

"What?" Jack whispered, "H-how do you know my na-"

"Sit still and stop slacking off!" He shouted sternly. Jack blinked as he turned to stare at the caramel-haired teenager in awe. He began to rock back and forth as he mumbled, "You're a distraction. Go sit out in the hall."

Jack couldn't believe what he was hearing. Every word brought back a memory of when Jack was younger and in the third grade. His teacher hated him and would always send him out to sit in the hall even if he had done nothing other than look off to the side instead of straight forward. It had been the most miserable year of his life. He hated it. He almost didn't pass the third grade because of that bitch.

"What the fuck is this?" Jack said as he looked between the road and Alex, "What. The. Fuck. Is this?!" He repeated louder, "Is this some kind of sick prank?! Who the fuck put you up to this? Wh-who are you?! Did... Wa-was it Vinny? Zack? Who? Tell me, dammit!" He shouted.

The teenager didn't move or say a word then. He kept a tight grip on the steering wheel where his hand still hadn't moved since he saved them from the deer. Jack felt his blood boiling as a small smile formed on the boy's face.

"Fuckin' stop this right now." Jack warned, "I-I'm serious, kid! Stop whatever this is you're doing right now!! Right fucking now!" He yelled.

"Fine." Alex breathed as he let go of the wheel and sat back. He crossed his arms over his chest and for the first time ever he actually looked normal to Jack. Other than the crusty, drying blood splattered on his clothes and skin, and his wild, wispy hair he looked casual and relaxed like a normal person sitting in a car looked, "Drop me off here." He whispered. His voice sounded slightly hurt, "I can walk."

Jack hesitated. He had half a mind to do as the kid said, speed off and never look back, but he knew he wouldn't feel right just leaving the poor boy alone in the middle of no where. He sighed, "No, no... Just tell me where you need me to go and I'll take you there."

"I'm dangerous." The boy insisted, "Leave me to die out here. Don't let me hurt you."

This was the first time Jack had actually had a normal conversation with the boy. As normal as he figured it would get. He was still confused by all the rambling, about how the boy knew his name. Was it just a coincidence? Did he just blurt a name and happen to get it right? But what about how accurately he voiced his third grade teacher's words? They were the exact things she had always said whenever he did anything. There's no way anyone knew about that. Jack was positive he didn't even tell anyone about it -not friends or even family. Could this boy have been in the class without Jack remembering? It's not like he even remembered his classmates from his senior year. Maybe the boy remembered him somehow. No, that couldn't be it. He was so much younger than Jack. He probably hadn't even been born at the time. Jack couldn't just leave him. He wanted answers. He could see in the corner of his eye the boy staring at him with that blank look on his face. He gulped as he murmured, "I want to help you."

When he didn't answer Jack cleared his throat and quietly asked, "How did you know my name?"

"You told me." He mumbled as he turned to look out the window again before repeating quietly, "You told me."

"No, n-no I didn't. I... Fuck I know I didn't... I..." Jack bit his lip, "I couldn't have, okay? I remember I asked you if you needed help, if you wanted me to call an ambulance. I didn't... I didn't say my name..." He seemed to start doubting himself. Did he ever tell him his name? Was there a possibility that he had and some time between all the rambling, screaming, and freak attacks had forgot?

The boy suddenly reached into the glove compartment and pulled out an old credit card with Jack's name printed across it. He handed it to Jack gently and mumbled, "If you really want an explanation that wont drive you insane that you can believe it's this."

He didn't even look at Jack as he took the card from his hand. His nerves settled slightly but something still didn't feel right. He glanced at Alex who looked tired suddenly. His head rested against the window as his fingers played with the folds of his pants. Jack wanted it to be that simple. He had looked through his glove box and found the card, read it and learned Jack's name, but it just wasn't that and they both knew it. Jack cocked an eyebrow as he asked, "How did you know my name really?"

"You wouldn't believe me." Alex mumbled as he averted his eyes from the window to Jack who gave him a reassuring smile. Alex sighed and ran his fingers through his still slightly damp hair as he said, "I can't tell you. I can't. I can't. They'll just get worst."

"What will?" Jack asked quietly as he worriedly looked between the boy and the road.

"The voices telling me to kill you."