Chapter 4: Dreadful news and Fishy bargains.
After her date, Sarah went to the corner store and used a payphone, something she hadn't done since she had gotten her cell phone in 9th grade. Better call Cassie, and hope she'll turn in my homework into Mr. Lieberman. When her friend picked up, she sounded hysterical, like she had been crying for hours. "Cassie, what's wrong?!"
"Oh Sarah, it's awful, Toby had an accident, Millie-Millie called you-you didn't I mean, you weren't here and I picked up your phone."
Sarah's breathing became frenetic and she tried hard to maintain her composure, though it was extremely difficult due to her strong temper. "Accident? What happened, tell me everything Cass- I just- I should've taken my phone- I should've-"
"He's in St. Augustine's hospital, I don't know exactly what happened Sarah, I'll meet you there."
When she arrived, Sarah spotted Karen, her eyeliner was smudged and her eyes were puffy, her father was pacing in the waiting room. Karen took notice of Sarah and ran to embrace her. "Oh sweetheart! Toby was on his way back from the park, he was with his friend, with Walker, and- Oh Sarah!" Karan wept uncontrollably, "I let them go together, they always do it, the park is so close, I can see it through the living room window, oh Sweetheart, it's all my fault, I should've accompanied them." It was impossible to tell if Karen was referring to her or to her father, she was so distraught by the whole thing, seemed so different from the dainty and composed Karen that she always was. "Is Toby alright?" Her father turned to her sharply and his eyes began to fill with tears. "Sarah, they were riding their bikes together on the sidewalk, on their way back home." Mr. Williams struggled to maintain the little control that was left in him, his voice began to break. "A man- a drunk, swerved in the wrong direction, he…he ran over them." Mr. Williams lost himself in hysterics and sobs, he shouted shamelessly in the hospital. "That drunk, he killed them! He hit them and took off; he left them on pavement to die like road kill, like stray dogs on the sidewalk!"
Sarah felt a cord snap within her, her throat felt dry, and she couldn't speak, she could see the moving, blurring images around her, yet she couldn't hear, she didn't want to hear. What a strange little scene, Karen's shoulders shaking as she cried, her father being escorted out of the hospital by two guards, and Cassandra staring at the pitiful ordeal with a pained look on her face. Sarah had withdrawn so deeply within herself that she no longer cared, she didn't notice when Cassie dragged her forcefully out of the hospital and drove them back to their dorm, and she didn't hear her own blood curdling shrieks and sobs while her friend comforted her. Nothing made sense, but then again, not many things in her life ever did.
The following morning, Sarah found a pink sticky note on her door which read:
"Sarah, I didn't want to bother you, I'm going to class, and then I'll get us something to eat. Call me if you need anything. – Cassie."
She crumpled it up in her hands and began to cry again. For a moment it seemed as if she had lost her sanity, she cried loudly, without restraints, not caring about anything in the world. Nothing interested her anymore, she didn't care. A strange idea tainted her morbid thoughts, before she could stop herself, Sarah took a deep breath and said," I wish that the Goblin King would come to me…right now."
A few seconds went by, she dug her nails deeply within her thighs as she cried, at the same time she laughed, she laughed bitterly at how pathetically low she had gone to comfort herself. She'd recurred to a childhood fantasy for help, and it sickened her. For the first time, Sarah couldn't find a single reason to carry on; the bond between her brother and her was too strong and pure to be broken so soon. Alone with her thoughts, she hadn't even noticed the warm blood flowing languidly from the many cuts and scratches on her legs, nor did she notice the coppery tang of her cut lips. When she opened her eyes, she noticed someone standing beside her, as her blurry eyes adjusted, she made out the figure. He was standing only a few feet from her, his icy voice broke the silence, "Why did you summon me, Sarah?" She didn't even process the impossibility of the situation and began to talk in between sobs. "It-It's Toby, he's. Dead!" Sarah explained everything, then they both became silent, much to her surprised, he seemed bothered, almost as if he cared. He stroked her hair and let her cry, then said, "My sincere condolences, but that doesn't answer my question." His tone was cold and indifferent again. "Eight years ago you said you had manipulated time for me."
"And so I did."
Sarah began to yell at him, exasperated. "Don't you f understand?! I want you to turn back time so that they never would've died!" before he could react to her, she had flung herself to his feet, wrapped her arms around them. She felt the cool leather of his boots against her warm cheeks. This was the last thing he would have ever expected from her. He'd always known her as a strong, ill tempered girl; such deep affliction on her behalf caught him off guard. He gulped, hoping she hadn't heard him and regained his cold hearted façade. He took a step away from the begging girl and began, "I'll do as you've asked." Sarah couldn't utter a single sound from the sheer relief. "Now, I don't know much about customs aboveground, yet I expect you to acknowledge…that one cannot have anything, without giving something in return." The distraught girl hadn't considered anything, and didn't know what to answer. "I have nothing that you would possibly need, nothing you'd even want!" Jareth made a cynical pout and began to pace back and forth through the room for what seemed like an eternity. The sound of his heeled boots against the wooden floor unnerved her. "My dearest Sarah, assuming you'd want to spare both of their lives…do you not?" Sarah began to nod her head frantically, he laughed coldly, "My, such a benevolent lady we have here. For each of their lives, you will give me three years of your own."
"I don't under-"
"It's quite simple really, you have to return with me to the underground for six years, or three if you chose to let one of those precious little boys die. Tell me Sarah, what does it feel like, having their lives in your hands. Do you feel empowered?" he smiled maliciously at her. How dare he, how dare this monster put her in such a situation. "I don't have all day, love. Either you accept or you let them die."
"I'll do it." She said, almost in a whisper. When she looked up, she detected the slightest hint of a smile on his lips. "It truly was for the best, dear. Now, I'll give you no more than an hour to gather some things and prepare yourself before we depart..." He was letting her take things. Consideration? Who the hell was she talking to? "I can gather some things? I thought we'd just-"he scoffed in an exaggerated manner, "Sarah, do you really find me to be such a villain?" Um, yea. "You'll find your preconceived notions to be very wrong." If he wasn't the villain…who the hell was he?
When there was thirteen minutes remaining until the hour finished, he shot her an expectant glance. "I'm ready. "She said in a barely audible whisper. He then came uncomfortably close to her, to a point to where she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. She stammered, "Wha-what are you doing?"
"Unless you too have the ability to transport freely through realms, I have to take you myself." He wrapped a gloved hand around her waist. The solid floor beneath her feet began to disappear, she closed her eyes and felt deep pressure on her body, everything was cold, then back to normal. "You may open your eyes, Sarah." They were in a massive room full of luxurious furniture and flamboyant white fur rugs, plus a chandelier ten times the biggest chandelier she had ever seen before. "I'll escort you to your room."
"My room? Jareth, I still have a lot of questions to ask you." He seemed exasperated with her and started to speak in an agitated tone, "I have absolutely no intention of speaking to a girl who is completely dazed. I want you follow me to your room, regain self control, and tomorrow morning I'll clarify things. Have I been perfectly clear?" His eyes examined her reaction. "Yes, I understand."
"I'm glad." Jareth offered her his arm in a chivalrous manner, which she hesitantly accepted. He guided her through an endless sea of hallways until they arrived in a regal looking room with a bed suited for an entire family. Most things including the bed comforter and curtains were of a rich emerald green. "I'll send a servant to fetch your belongings; you shall call me if you need anything…Goodnight Sarah." He was there a moment, the next he had disappeared, leaving a cold empty spot where he had stood.
"Goodnight, Jareth."