Part two
After Julian had had his fun and listened to enough screams, he located Jenny and was shocked to see her in the nearest mental hospital. He watched her from the shadows.
"Dear one, listen to me." Mrs. Thorton cried.
Jenny shook her head and put her hands over her ears.
"Fine, fine. Jenny, if that's the way you want it to be." Her mom was angry now.
"Jenny, please." Joey begged. "Just listen, or talk to us."
Jenny put her blazing green eyes on her brother and shook her head.
"Talk to us," Mr. Thorton said in a stern voice though his eyes were watery. "Or we'll go and leave you alone."
"No." Jenny said and scrambled over to her father and grasped onto his hand. "No. Don't leave me alone or he will, he will come and."
"Who, Jenny? Who are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about him." Jenny never said his name. She could never say that name.
"Oh," Joey said and sighed. "Him." They had all heard the story before and they didn't want to hear it again.
"Why don't you believe me?" She whined.
"Jenny, even Tom and the others say that never happened." Her father said in an exasperated voice.
Jenny's voice rose until she was nearly screeching. "But it did, it did."
"No it didn't, Jenny. Summer is back now and all your friends are getting on fine."
"They are cowards." Jenny said spitefully. "They don't want to remember but we have to tell everyone. I have to tell everyone. I have to warn them of the Shadow World."
"Jenny, look at me in the eye." Said her father. "And repeat after me, The Shadow World does not exist."
Jenny felt hot tears roll down her face. She closed her eyes and shook her head.
"That's enough for today." Said a doctor from the corner. "Jenny has had enough."
"No, Joey, stay with me." She turned to her younger brother and grasped onto his leg. "Don't go." She pleaded.
Joey looked terrified. He pried his sister off his leg and said, "I'm sorry, Jenny."
"No." She screamed as they all walked out of the room, leaving her. "Don't leave me alone." She sat down on the bed and looked around wildly. "Don't leave me alone, in the dark." The light clicked off. "Don't leave me with the shadows."
They left her alone and Jenny sobbed into her hard cold pillow.
Julian watched, horrified. He had died at the end of the third game and he had pictured her happy. He had pictured her surrounded by her friends and family.
He hadn't pictured this.
Her hair, which she normally kept perfectly, was in rags around her face. Her eyes were bloodshot and wild. She was unusually skinny and her cheekbones had sunk into her face. She looked like a skeleton, a victim of a famine and she looked insane.
This is what I did to her.
He couldn't talk to her now. He wasn't able for it yet.
"Thorny, listen to me." Tom said desperately. Julian watched in the shadows and had to admit that he had a small tinge of pleasure when he saw Jenny shaking her head and ignoring Tom.
"Look, it never happened. Julian doesn't exist." Tom said.
Jenny, this time, looked at him and said sharply. "Be a man, Tom. It did happen and you know it. We have to warn everyone."
"Jenny, we are not going down the same road you did. People think you're mad. Jenny, if you heard what they were saying."
"Yeah, I heard, Tom. I heard everything. Remember that I was there when they started. I was there when Yvonne threw her milk on me. I was there when Sarah said that her little sister was afraid of me. I was there when Bill tried to beat me up. I was there when they called me a psycho, Tom. I was there when my friends turned their backs on me and let me face it alone."
"We didn't turn our backs on you, Jenny. It's just."
"What, Tom? What? How can you say that the Shadow World isn't real? How can you say that after all I went through to save you in all the games? Yes, Tom. I saved you. Not the other way around and I don't see you returning the favour."
"Well, what do you expect me to do?" Tom said savagely. "Come in and act insane to keep you company."
"Shut up!" Jenny screamed. "You're no good. Keep away from me."
"I'm no good." Tom repeated. "I'm no good! Look at yourself, you're insane, Jenny. I have a good mind just to dump you and go out with some other girl, even that girl Marie."
"Marie!" Jenny screeched. "Fine, go out with her. It's not as if you're any use to me anyway."
"Fine, Jenny." Tom said in a very low voice. "And I hope you stay here and rot, you lunatic bitch."
Now, Julian thought as he watched Jenny's face go through the many stages of fury, the old Jenny would have started crying but this was Jenny at a whole new level. Jenny was not at her right mind when she launched at Tom and sent him spiralling to the ground.
Tom restrained her, looking everywhere but at her and pressed the button that called some doctors in.
"Mr. Locke." A doctor said, rushing in. "I think it would be best if you were to go."
"I'm going." Tom grunted and left the room.
"Jennifer! Jennifer! Calm down."
Jenny was mad. She spit and scratched and kicked the doctor off her.
Then other doctors came in and tried to calm her down. She screamed and kicked as they held her onto her bed.
The doctor injected some drugs into her. Jenny, after a couple of minutes, went limp.
Jenny, his Jenny? Here? And she's so afraid and confused.
He wanted to help her, to reach out and take her in his arms but of course he couldn't because that would just drive her even more insane.
What tore him apart though, was that she seemed to be fighting two battles against herself. First of all, she wanted to tell everyone about The Shadow World and warn them. Typical Jenny. But people couldn't except it. They bullied her and she didn't have her friends to support her.
Second was, she lived with the fear that he would come back and get her. He was haunting her. But she was right to be afraid of him coming back, because, well, wasn't he here? Ready to take her back to the Shadow World?
So, he had drove the one he truly loved insane. It didn't say much for his character. He was truly hurt that she was in this state though. He wanted to be there to protect her so much, yet there was no way he could protect her from himself, or her own head.
"Jenny has created a fantasy world, The Shadow World as she calls it. Perhaps she feels nobody loves her and that's why she conjured up this Julian character to love her. It all links back to the accident with her grandfather. He had books and books about this Shadow World. He must have told her stories about it when she was younger and now she's warped it into her own little world. Jenny has demons to fight," Said the doctor. "We just got to wait patiently until she fights them."
But how can she fight the Shadow Men? He thought. If you fight against the Shadow Men, you lose. Sure Jenny had won against him, but hadn't he loved her? If she said what she had said to another Shadow Men, she would have been tortured horribly and then killed, no doubt about it. There was a certain irony in the whole thing.
Jenny was awake. Her eyes were dilated and he knew that she couldn't move, couldn't scream. She had her eyes set on the ceiling.
Julian didn't know what he was doing until he had done it.
He leaned over her and looked into those beautiful green eyes.
Shock. Confusion. Disbelief. Anger. Fear. Everything mixed together in those eyes.
She was so helpless. She couldn't move.
Somebody, anybody, help me. She screamed inside her head knowing nobody could here.
Please.
She was all alone, paralysed with the Shadow Man.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
After Julian had had his fun and listened to enough screams, he located Jenny and was shocked to see her in the nearest mental hospital. He watched her from the shadows.
"Dear one, listen to me." Mrs. Thorton cried.
Jenny shook her head and put her hands over her ears.
"Fine, fine. Jenny, if that's the way you want it to be." Her mom was angry now.
"Jenny, please." Joey begged. "Just listen, or talk to us."
Jenny put her blazing green eyes on her brother and shook her head.
"Talk to us," Mr. Thorton said in a stern voice though his eyes were watery. "Or we'll go and leave you alone."
"No." Jenny said and scrambled over to her father and grasped onto his hand. "No. Don't leave me alone or he will, he will come and."
"Who, Jenny? Who are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about him." Jenny never said his name. She could never say that name.
"Oh," Joey said and sighed. "Him." They had all heard the story before and they didn't want to hear it again.
"Why don't you believe me?" She whined.
"Jenny, even Tom and the others say that never happened." Her father said in an exasperated voice.
Jenny's voice rose until she was nearly screeching. "But it did, it did."
"No it didn't, Jenny. Summer is back now and all your friends are getting on fine."
"They are cowards." Jenny said spitefully. "They don't want to remember but we have to tell everyone. I have to tell everyone. I have to warn them of the Shadow World."
"Jenny, look at me in the eye." Said her father. "And repeat after me, The Shadow World does not exist."
Jenny felt hot tears roll down her face. She closed her eyes and shook her head.
"That's enough for today." Said a doctor from the corner. "Jenny has had enough."
"No, Joey, stay with me." She turned to her younger brother and grasped onto his leg. "Don't go." She pleaded.
Joey looked terrified. He pried his sister off his leg and said, "I'm sorry, Jenny."
"No." She screamed as they all walked out of the room, leaving her. "Don't leave me alone." She sat down on the bed and looked around wildly. "Don't leave me alone, in the dark." The light clicked off. "Don't leave me with the shadows."
They left her alone and Jenny sobbed into her hard cold pillow.
Julian watched, horrified. He had died at the end of the third game and he had pictured her happy. He had pictured her surrounded by her friends and family.
He hadn't pictured this.
Her hair, which she normally kept perfectly, was in rags around her face. Her eyes were bloodshot and wild. She was unusually skinny and her cheekbones had sunk into her face. She looked like a skeleton, a victim of a famine and she looked insane.
This is what I did to her.
He couldn't talk to her now. He wasn't able for it yet.
"Thorny, listen to me." Tom said desperately. Julian watched in the shadows and had to admit that he had a small tinge of pleasure when he saw Jenny shaking her head and ignoring Tom.
"Look, it never happened. Julian doesn't exist." Tom said.
Jenny, this time, looked at him and said sharply. "Be a man, Tom. It did happen and you know it. We have to warn everyone."
"Jenny, we are not going down the same road you did. People think you're mad. Jenny, if you heard what they were saying."
"Yeah, I heard, Tom. I heard everything. Remember that I was there when they started. I was there when Yvonne threw her milk on me. I was there when Sarah said that her little sister was afraid of me. I was there when Bill tried to beat me up. I was there when they called me a psycho, Tom. I was there when my friends turned their backs on me and let me face it alone."
"We didn't turn our backs on you, Jenny. It's just."
"What, Tom? What? How can you say that the Shadow World isn't real? How can you say that after all I went through to save you in all the games? Yes, Tom. I saved you. Not the other way around and I don't see you returning the favour."
"Well, what do you expect me to do?" Tom said savagely. "Come in and act insane to keep you company."
"Shut up!" Jenny screamed. "You're no good. Keep away from me."
"I'm no good." Tom repeated. "I'm no good! Look at yourself, you're insane, Jenny. I have a good mind just to dump you and go out with some other girl, even that girl Marie."
"Marie!" Jenny screeched. "Fine, go out with her. It's not as if you're any use to me anyway."
"Fine, Jenny." Tom said in a very low voice. "And I hope you stay here and rot, you lunatic bitch."
Now, Julian thought as he watched Jenny's face go through the many stages of fury, the old Jenny would have started crying but this was Jenny at a whole new level. Jenny was not at her right mind when she launched at Tom and sent him spiralling to the ground.
Tom restrained her, looking everywhere but at her and pressed the button that called some doctors in.
"Mr. Locke." A doctor said, rushing in. "I think it would be best if you were to go."
"I'm going." Tom grunted and left the room.
"Jennifer! Jennifer! Calm down."
Jenny was mad. She spit and scratched and kicked the doctor off her.
Then other doctors came in and tried to calm her down. She screamed and kicked as they held her onto her bed.
The doctor injected some drugs into her. Jenny, after a couple of minutes, went limp.
Jenny, his Jenny? Here? And she's so afraid and confused.
He wanted to help her, to reach out and take her in his arms but of course he couldn't because that would just drive her even more insane.
What tore him apart though, was that she seemed to be fighting two battles against herself. First of all, she wanted to tell everyone about The Shadow World and warn them. Typical Jenny. But people couldn't except it. They bullied her and she didn't have her friends to support her.
Second was, she lived with the fear that he would come back and get her. He was haunting her. But she was right to be afraid of him coming back, because, well, wasn't he here? Ready to take her back to the Shadow World?
So, he had drove the one he truly loved insane. It didn't say much for his character. He was truly hurt that she was in this state though. He wanted to be there to protect her so much, yet there was no way he could protect her from himself, or her own head.
"Jenny has created a fantasy world, The Shadow World as she calls it. Perhaps she feels nobody loves her and that's why she conjured up this Julian character to love her. It all links back to the accident with her grandfather. He had books and books about this Shadow World. He must have told her stories about it when she was younger and now she's warped it into her own little world. Jenny has demons to fight," Said the doctor. "We just got to wait patiently until she fights them."
But how can she fight the Shadow Men? He thought. If you fight against the Shadow Men, you lose. Sure Jenny had won against him, but hadn't he loved her? If she said what she had said to another Shadow Men, she would have been tortured horribly and then killed, no doubt about it. There was a certain irony in the whole thing.
Jenny was awake. Her eyes were dilated and he knew that she couldn't move, couldn't scream. She had her eyes set on the ceiling.
Julian didn't know what he was doing until he had done it.
He leaned over her and looked into those beautiful green eyes.
Shock. Confusion. Disbelief. Anger. Fear. Everything mixed together in those eyes.
She was so helpless. She couldn't move.
Somebody, anybody, help me. She screamed inside her head knowing nobody could here.
Please.
She was all alone, paralysed with the Shadow Man.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
