Be All My Sins Forgotten

Chapter 3: My First Visitor

It was early in the morning, the first bell had already rung through the school and Jeremy could hardly sit still and listen to his teacher speak on the early discoveries of the Germanic Tribes in Europe. Glancing at the clock he felt his heart jump, only five more minutes before he could go and talk to Phantom. A feeling of gitty nervousness settled in his stomach, making to do jumps and flips, and looking around the teen noticed that every one of the students all seemed to be skating on razor emotions between happiness and anxiousness, even the teachers were hardly keeping themselves together. Looking at the clock it now read eight forty-five, time to go.

Shifting slightly on the couch Danny looked up at Jazz who held a notepad, pen and a recorder in her hand. Noticing that I was staring, she looked up and smiled kindly and suddenly I couldn't hold any of my fears back.

"What should I do?" I asked hating myself at how useless I sounded. "I mean, what do I even ask? What do I say? How should I react?" The questions kept flowing and before I knew it, I was panicking.

"Woah, Danny calm down, all I want you to do is listen." Jazz said her tone reassuring before she looked down at her wrist watch and went to go get my first visitor. The auditorium was quiet, aside from my tapping foot but after a few minutes the feeling of pins in needles stabbing underneath the soft muscle became too much and I stopped. Hearing a door open with a clang and approaching footsteps I made a quick dash to the piano bench, ignoring my body which practically begged me to stay on the soft coach. I only had a second to situate myself when Jazz returned, the drama student from yesterday who lent me these…sweatpants, came in trailing behind her looking just as nervous as I felt. He situated himself on another chair and smiled.

"H-hey." The boy stuttered and after a few moments of silence, the realization that I was the one making him nervous hit me.

"Hey. I'm Danny?" I replied my question coming out a statement, smiling, I outstretched my hand which he took shaking it. And after that, Jeremy, he told me, relaxed.

"You're from the drama club right?" I asked and the teen smiled broadly. Strangely, listening to Jeremy's daily life felt, calming, and nerve wracking all at once, my stomach flipped when he spoke about certain things, teachers, people, and what he did.

"And right now we're writing a play titled Masks that deals with the protagonists love who's a ghost and…"

"Wait, ghost?"

Jeremy stopped, hesitation flickering across his hazel eyes.

"Yeah, the main character, his love dies, but no matter where he goes she follows, eventually driving him insane."

"Why?" I asked my voice sounded quiet even to my ears. Again, Jeremy looked to Jazz who shrugged.

"Well, the story kinda started when we saw you fighting that ghost with blue hair, her name was Ember, it took us a while to realize she's a ghost but now listening to her music, it's not hard to figure out. And we thought her song Remember My Name could be used to write a play, so after some brainstorming, and a lot of sleepless nights, Masks was born." Jeremy said as Danny's green eyes fogged over, his mind someplace else entirely. The group sat in silence for a while before Jazz leaned over and placed a hand on the ghosts shoulder.

"Danny?"

Danny shook his head, clearing the fog away before he looked up and smiled at Jeremy.

"That sounds like an interesting play; I'd like to see it sometime." He said watching as the drama club member bounced in his seat.

"Thanks, we're going to perform in two weeks and I know everyone would love it if you came!' Jeremy said, Jazz smiled and closed her notepad.

"I'm sure. Well you need to get back to class. Thanks so much for doing this Jeremy." Jazz said as she shook his hand.

"Oh, no problem thanks again for listening to me ramble." He said looking at Danny before leaving the auditorium.

Still sitting on the bench I mulled over what Jeremy had told me, that I'd fought a ghost named Ember. Ghost, something dead, a spirit, me. Those words kept coming back to me, only something felt wrong, I didn't feel dead. Not entirely at least, listening I could hear Jazz's faint heartbeat and I could feel her warmth; something tangible, as if I'd been submerged under water for far too long. But the name, Ember, had rung a bell yet when I drew close, the memory formed a wall, pitch black and unyielding. The feeling of heat drew near, and looking up I felt a soft hand rest on my shoulder.

"You doing okay?" Jazz asked her teal eyes alight with concern, and my stomach twisted, wriggling around uncomfortably.

"Yeah, it's just a lot to take in." I replied not wanting to worry her further. She smiled kindly down at me.

"Okay well, the next person isn't supposed to come for another five minutes, do you need anything?"

"Yeah, could I be alone for a little while." I asked, a knowing look passed over Jazz's face before she left. Once gone, I was left in this too big room, struggling a little to stand, my feet swayed underneath me. But I pushed past the pain and walked down the stairs to the rows of seats and the double doors at the end of them. Putting one foot in front of the other was hard, but the carpet sank between my toes giving me some balance, and possibly soaking up blood seeping through my bandages. Half way I paused and looked back to the stage, this place was beautiful, spacious and the dark velvet red curtains added a hue of an ancient theater in Germany. Shaking those thoughts away, my green eyes scanned the rows upon rows of seats forming perfect sets of columns, reminding me of Rome. Had I ever been to those places? What were places? My own mind answered that for me.

"Great, I'm my own Q and A book." I ground out, my voice echoing around the room before being dampened by the sound carpets on the walls. A chill went up my spine as my voice carried and suddenly the room swam, the seats became doors, and the walls were lead lined and sound proof, fear erupted inside me, bubbling up and trying to erupt through my abused vocal cords. Stumbling I tried to make it to the end of the aisle when my arms suddenly felt so heavy, hands grasping my upper arms and dragging me somewhere. To the end of the auditorium, no, when I looked up the dark wooden doors vanished to be replaced with blinding metal, the florescent lights searing my eyes.

"No, no, no…" Not there, the long white hallway blurred in and out of focus as if it had slipped out, there was a pass code required at the door, and a meaty hand typed it in, panic jolted through me with the feeling of dread and resignment. I was going to… "No!" I screamed and the dark carpet came into view, snapping me back to reality. Shakily, I looked around realizing I'd slipped onto my knees, my hand gripped a seat, my knuckles deathly white, standing on shaking legs I staggered back in the darkly lit room, trying my hardest not to stare behind me back at the wooden doors which flickered to that, place. I tripped when my foot hit the piano bench, sending flares of pain shooting up my leg.

"Ow." I said sitting awkwardly on the bench and holding my leg, sweat running down my face.

"Danny? Are you alright?" Jazz asked surprising me; I jumped slightly and met her teal eyes before I noticed a girl standing next to her looking just as concerned.

"Y-Yeah, I just tripped, guess I'm clumsy. Sorry, I didn't mean to scary you." I said apologizing as the other girl stepped forward her hair pulled up in a messy bun, her thin glasses smudged with acrylic paint.

"That's okay, I do things like that all the time. My names Sally, it's nice to finally meet you." Sally said sitting down at the chair beside me.

"Nice to meet you too Sally." And with this she started talking, Jazz having given her some guidelines over what to say. It was nice, and Sally helped dull the fear that buzzed around in my head. The girl was an art student who hoped to get into Juilliard, and she loved her two pet chickens that she raised for a science project. Sally's life was so, normal, it felt like she lived reality, and I was nothing more than the bad dream. I think I loved her for that, for painting a picture of happiness and not that horrible whiteness in the hallway.

"And… I want to thank you Danny." She said pulling me from my daydream.

"Huh, I'm sorry?" I asked as Sally giggled her glasses slipping down her nose.

"I want to thank you for saving my life, one time, this ghost with flaming green hair attacked our art class after school, I was trapped, and he fired missiles, one was heading for me… you took the blast."

Flashes of fire, metal, and a face passed by, as two white gloved hands hid a girl behind a desk with another person, an older woman.

"I probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you, so thanks Danny." Sally said and I couldn't help the blush that tingled beneath my skin.

"No problem."

Jazz closed her notebook, "well that's all the time you have Sally." The girl smiled.

"Thanks for listening Danny." And with this, she left, Jazz never taking her eyes off of me. Once the door closed back stage Jazz's gaze hardened.

"What did you see?" She asked, I let out a small sigh.

"Fire, I think Sally too, and another woman, I pushed her behind a desk."

Jazz opened her mouth in surprise before shaking her head putting that aside for another time.

"No, before, when I came in with Sally you were sitting on that bench with more than just pain from hitting your knee, what did you see Danny? I need to know." The seriousness, and protectiveness in her voice made something in my heart clench then unravel by slow degrees.

"I-I saw a hallway, with two giant metal doors at the end. There was a pass code I think, it was just so bright… I don't want to go there." I stuttered, Sally's picture of happiness slipping away again as I desperately tried to keep it in place, instead of the nightmare. Jazz was suddenly next to me hugging me as if I'd disappear, her arms sent spikes of pain radiating down my injured back, and she made my ribs creek, but for the life of me I found I didn't care. I never wanted her to let go.

"I'm sorry Danny, I didn't mean to hurt you, I'm here, your safe." She whispered and it was then I felt the warm tears streaming down my face and the feeling of how right, yet wrong this was. I would never let Jazz see me cry before. The oddness of this thought made me hold on tighter, my hands tangling in her red hair that I knew must be unpleasant for her but, she's my sister. So this okay right? To just let her hug me and give me support. My mind stopped, suddenly catching up with the words I was thinking. I wrenched away, and met her confused teal gaze with my shocked glowing green ones.

"You're my sister. Aren't you?" I asked and unbeknownst to either of us, the black wall in my head began to crack.