Final chapter. *wipes brow* This is my longest yet. Its not the ending I originally planned but I think I still like it. I like Jane's ending thoughts anyway. :D
Chapter 11
Jane watched his shadow twist and shudder, moving independently until it took an entirely different shape to his own. It grew until it reached from the floor to the ceiling and stretched across the wall, creating a dim layer of shade. The shadow darkened, increasing its intensity until it was completely black, like a gaping mouth in the wall. All to similar to the mouth of the beast. The monster who had taken Lisbon.
Not a monster, its not real, it can't be real…
Jane moved cautiously toward the hole, it seemed to pulse as he moved, beckoning him closer. Hesitantly, he reached out his hand and lightly touched its filmy surface, and it rippled eagerly in response. He felt it watching him, mocking him. It knew he was afraid and it fed off it, taking strength from his fear until it became invincible. It would lead to the beast…
Not a beast, not real, nothing's real…
but then if it did, it would also lead to Lisbon.
Jane shut his eyes as he leaped through the mouth of the wall, and it swallowed him with its sinister jaws. He fell through a static world, yet without enough light to see by he felt as if he was weightless, and he supposed it was quite possible that this could be the case. He had come to expect what he would otherwise deem to be impossible.
Falling, it felt like he was always he was always falling. It was one of things he most despised about this place, about the whole town. They had taken control from him and he was powerless to stop anything they might do…
but it would not stop him from trying, not anymore. He owed Lisbon that much.
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Lisbon's eyelids fluttered open, it seemed to her that she was always drifting in and out of consciousness, and each time she woke the flies buzzed in her head. Her surroundings had not changed, which they sometimes did, and she found she was still slouched awkwardly against the bars of her prison.
"It is time," said her capturer, who stood with his back to her, watching the fire as he so often was.
At that moment, the far wall darkened, creating a hole of shadows that seemed to ooze power and it mocked her with its disturbing authority. It spat Jane across the floor, as if disgusted he was even in its presence, as if none of then could ever be worthy its company. And it left as swiftly as it had appeared.
Jane lay still on the floor, and for a brief moment Lisbon felt a sickening dread form in her stomach and begin seeping throughout her body, and she almost didn't want to acknowledge the immense relief she felt as he lifted his head and staggered to his feet.
"Mr. Jane, a pleasure as always," His words were emotionless, his face expressionless, and for a moment, Lisbon was reminded of the townspeople. Their dark, hollow eyes, always watching but never quite seeing what was there. They were not real, (none of this is real), they were only a means of filling space. A way to create an illusion of some vague sense of normalcy, of reality.
Jane's eyes quickly scanned the room, darting over the neat rows of books concealing their stories and poems. (They sailed away for a year and a day)He blinked a few times in an attempt to stop the room from spinning, the whirls of reds and oranges were threatening to claim his consciousness. (oranges and lemons)He pushed himself away from the chair he had been leaning against for support and almost fell against the cage. (hand in hand on the edge of the sand)
"Lisbon!" Jane's face lit up in recognition but his expression still held worry and confusion. Lisbon wished she could respond but both her mind and body seemed incapable, and the flies still buzzed in her head.
Jane was now slumped against the bars of the cage, gripping them to keep himself from falling and obviously exhausted. Lisbon only sat, huddled in the far corner of her prison and she hoped she could portray her emotions with her eyes.
"Teresa…" he whispered.
"She does no longer go by what you call her. She is nameless, as I am, and the sooner she forgets what she was the better. For I can never forget, and I would give anything in the world for just the chance to do so. I remember my name but who is there to call me by it?" His words were filled with such sadness Jane found himself almost feeling pity for the strange man.
"Is that why you took them? Because you're lonely?"
"I rescued them. The mortal world is no place for the immortal."
"What about Van-pelt, and Rigsby and Cho? Did you rescue them too?" Jane asked sarcastically, trying to glare at him but he only felt his eyelids droop.
"They were mistakes, and they will be returned in time." He watched as Jane's legs gave way and he slid down the side of the cage. "You are not meant for this world Mr. Jane, just as we are not meant for yours. Its draining you."
"She is not like you. She does not belong here, there is no here." (not real nothings real)
"You think she's like you?" he asked in disgust. "A mortal? Is that what you take her for, IS THAT WHAT YOU SEE?" He moved so he was standing in front of Jane, he was not a particularly tall man but from the floor he looked incredibly intimidating.
"I'm not looking to challenge you," Jane said calmly, forcing his eyes to stay open. "but you have taken so many others… let her go."
"You are not wrong, I do have many. In fact, she is the last." He looked over at her fondly, and Lisbon continued to stare ahead of her. Her brow furrowed in concentration, as if trying to remember something from long ago.
"and what did you intend to do with her? Keep her in a cage?" Jane asked, not even trying to mask the obvious distain in his voice.
"Only temporarily, you see, you have something of hers and until you release it she will remain incomplete. Your body is dying Mr. Jane, and the part of her you hold will be free once you're gone and will naturally return to its home."
Jane looked over at Lisbon, she seemed so lost and vulnerable, crouched in the corner of the cage. He had never seen her like this, she was always so strong, after all, she had to compensate for him, and it was breaking him to see her look so scared. So small… but he could feel his body dying all around him.
"Teresa…" His voice came out as a croak, barely audible. "Teresa," he tried again, a little louder this time but he felt that he could be shouting and screaming her name and she would still not hear him.
Lisbon was aware he was speaking to her but the flies were buzzing louder, covering his words. If she could only think clearly. Teresa, She heard the word, but it was not a word she knew, the flies would not let her remember. Teresa, There it was again, it was beginning to seem so familiar. Teresa, Teresa… Teresa… it was her name. Her name. How could she have possibly forgotten her own name?
"Teresa!" Jane's voice was becoming louder, though he felt it was only draining his strength faster.
"Stop that! She is not what you call her, she is nameless, we are all nameless here." The sudden fear in the man's expression gave Jane a little hope, not much, but enough, even if he didn't really understand it… and he smiled…
"because you have only to know someone by their true name for them to loose their dangerous magic…" Jane remembered the words of the masked stranger, maybe he had been trying to help him after all. He was vaguely aware of the fire raging, spreading across the room and burning its content. Its people dancing over the yellowing pages of the faded books, scorching their words.
Not people, not real, nothings real…
"I knew this would come," the man shouted into the flames, "For she is the last… but you will remember, you will always remember."
Jane felt his eyelids slide shut, blocking out the flames that licked at his skin. He thought he heard someone call his name, but it was a blurred thought, like that of a dream. He did not fight as his heartbeat slowed, only feeling a soft hand covering his own and a voice whispering his name.
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Jane stood on a clear white beach and watched as the waves slid over the sand towards him, before retreating back into the ocean. The sky was a pure unbroken blue and its colour was beautifully mirrored in the water. It was a peaceful scene, and yet held the same eerie dreamlike qualities of the hotel. It was to perfect, to clean. He did not deserve such a world.
No one does really, we are all at fault…
Jane turned to see the masked stranger standing behind him, his dark coloured robes a stark contrast to the pure beach.
"I was under the impression you thought we were very different, but now you refer to us both within one sentence." He said, as he turned away from the figure, once again letting his eyes drift over the horizon.
It is true that you cannot compare two things that by their nature are not comparable, but maybe we are not so different…
"This isn't real is it," it was not a question, and for a while the mask remained silent, but Jane did not turn to observe its thoughts.
It is as real as you are, but then that is no real answer. It may be more appropriate to say you are as real as this world…but it is not yours either way…
Jane contemplated what the mask had said as the figure moved to stand beside him, not flickering, but gliding. A soft mist rolled over the sand, covering Jane's footprints.
You were never meant to be here, it was created by those who could not accept what they knew, and to them this world is as real as it needs to be…
Nothing truly exists…you can not stay here…
"Are you really an angel?"
I can be, if that is what you choose…
"I'd like that." They stood in silence for a while, it was easy to become lost within the waves. Jane felt them drawing him, and soon he felt their soft foam sliding over his feet. Looking back, he saw he was quite far away from where the masked figure stood.
This world will be gone soon, and I with it, but remember… we are as real as you are… all of us…
The water rose, first splashing around his ankles but soon making its way towards his middle.
We will not meet again…
"Not in this world, but maybe in another,"
There is no other, you have your world and it is what it is… nothing more…nothing more…
And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting…
Nothing exists here but you, and you are but a thought...
"I know… I know," Jane whispered as the water covered him completely, the waves crashing above him as he slipped below. Falling… but then he was always falling.
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"Jane, Jane!" His eyes opened slowly as the sound of his name and grew wide as he tried to focus. He was aware of someone leaning over him, their hair falling across his face. Lisbon…
"Lisbon!" He sat up so suddenly his head nearly collided with hers, and immediately pulled her into a hug. "You have no idea how good it is to see you!" As he looked over her shoulder to observe his surroundings, he found that he was in a hospital bed, and not a comfortable one. Lisbon pulled away from him, a little startled at his unexpected outburst, well, not quite an outburst but it was unexpected all the same.
"Where are the others, are they ok?" He questioned frantically, looking around the room again as if he thought he might have missed them the first time.
"They're fine, a little confused, but otherwise ok. They were released from hospital a few days ago. Apparently we had some sort of joint hallucination brought on by chemicals released by a fungus." Lisbon shrugged.
Jane now realised that Lisbon was wearing a pale blue hospital gown similar to his own, and somehow found himself wondering if she was wearing any underwear.
"Are you ok?" he asked tentatively, reaching up to stroke her cheek and shaking his previous thoughts from his mind.
"Again, a little confused, but good enough." Jane let his hand linger on her cheek a little longer before dropping it to his side. Hallucination, that was an interesting way of putting it. He smiled to himself. But if that's what the doctors had told her then that was what she would believe. He, on the other hand…
"To be honest, I don't really remember much of it."
"No? What do you remember?"
"I remember a hotel, you and the team, fire… there was a buzzing. That's it really." Lisbon thought she saw a flash of disappointment cross Jane's face before he masked it with his charming smile.
"Really, that's it? Are you sure?" Jane held Lisbon's gaze, a slight tone of disbelief in his voice. She twisted her head to the side in confusion but still kept her eyes on his.
"I'm sure," Liar, Jane thought.
"Well then maybe I should jog your memory," Before she could form a response, he quickly leaned towards her and pressed his lips softly against hers, gently running his tongue along her bottom lip before pulling away. He kept his face close to hers and smiled dreamily as a light blush covered her cheeks.
"Um, I should really tell the doctor you're awake. You were unconscious for longest out of all of us and he was worried about how it might have affected you." Lisbon stumbled over her words, she was aware she was rambling but couldn't seem to stop talking. "I'll, um, just go and get him."
"Affected me huh? I hope I didn't brain my damage." She laughed quietly as she left, letting the door fall closed behind her, and he was almost sure he heard something slither across the floor. Almost certain he saw a dark shadow outside the door, slinking after her down the hall and almost positive her heard its long black claws scrape along the floor and reach out to grasp the hem of her gown.
and then it was gone.
There was nothing there, but then of course, there was never anything there. Jane lay back against the pillows, pulling the covers up closer to his chest. He wondered how anyone could ever know what was real and what was not. But then, if enough people believed in something, if it was real to them, would it be possible for it to form a physical state, if only in their minds. Though maybe, occasionally, others were pulled into their illusion. He imagined the masked angel, its empty eyes were hollow and yet held such sorrow. His life so often felt like a dream, though not always an unpleasant one.
He smiled as he remembered the feel of Lisbon's lips against his. He did not believe in joint hallucinations yet he was willing to believe Lisbon was something greater than what was understood in this world. Maybe it was his belief in her. She was special, he knew that, in a way he supposed she never would. She was the last… of what he wasn't quite sure.
But it would be the last in the world that came to Patrick Jane.
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Finally finished. Sorry the ending isn't all that imaginative. I did have a different ending planned but then I kind of went of on a tangent somewhere In the middle and… *shrugs* Had to bring the mask back, one of my favourite characters. :D
I didn't explain a lot of stuff and I'm hoping people will be able to read between the lines and make their own judgements.
Feedback would mean the world for me. ^^
