Thanks for reading the last chapter. I know it was probably very weird, and we're not out of the proverbial woods yet, but we'll get there.
CHAPTER NINE: Uncomfortable Silence
I went to see Pitch last night. I decided I couldn't wait until I finished North's story. I asked for Leo's help, and he was able to take me back the night after our little adventure with Jamie.
I barely spared a moment to wonder how Jamie's sleepy day at school had gone. I didn't see anyone else, but went straight to Pitch's lair.
I found him for once not under his bed but sitting against it, playing with a small nightmare. I say playing, but to the nightmare, it was not a game. It would charge at Pitch, he would smack it away, it would canter off a few feet and prance in a little circle and eventually work up the nerve to charge again.
After I watched the strange scene for a minute or so, I went to sit beside him against the bed. "Good to see you out," I said, with just a hint of sarcasm. Out of bed was hardly an achievement.
"It's night," he said, as if that explained everything.
We sat there, the silence becoming more and more uncomfortable. I don't know if you know this, but there are different kinds of silence. There's the kind friends share, that is comfortable and doesn't need filling. There's the kind acquaintances share that is neither comfortable nor uncomfortable, when they are waiting for the same thing. Then, among others, there is the silence shared by people who are not at all sure that their goals are the same. People who don't know what to expect from each other, who hope in or fear each other. That was the kind we were enduring.
When I didn't like waiting any longer for him to break the silence, I said, "I think I may have found something that will help."
He shattered the nightmare this time around and sat with his hands on his knees. "What is it?"
"I don't want to say exactly what it is," I said. "I'm not sure how to use what I've learned yet, and I don't want to get your hopes up and then disappoint you." I really wanted to tell him that I knew who he was. That I knew he had been a hero. That I had been the first to conquer and imprison him, but I would be the one to free him. That I knew there was a fragment of good left in his heart and I would find a way to wake it up and get rid of the darkness in him forever.
But I couldn't say any of that. I put my arm around his shoulders instead.
He glanced up at me, a little suspicious I think, and said, "Well, if you can't tell me what it is, and you can't use it yet, I guess you should go back wherever you've been and figure that out."
It was logical. And cold. I couldn't blame him.
"Yeah. I just wanted to... to let you know I'm working on it."
He nodded. Then he frowned and looked toward the window that opened on nothing. "It's trying to get in," he said darkly.
"What is?"
"The moonlight."
I looked, but nothing was coming through the window.
"I can feel him trying to get down here," Pitch said.
I felt uneasy. This sounded like something that would happen in the book I was reading, not the movie I'd come from. I had the feeling that without trying to, I was already changing things. I needed to get ahead of this thing if I was going to control any of it.
"I'd better go," I said, giving his shoulder a tiny squeeze before getting up. "I'll try to hurry."
He nodded again, not looking up at me. He looked about to say something, but never did.
"Bye," I said softly.
/'*
Back in this world, I woke up much too early... but early enough to finish the book by the time we would normally have gotten out of bed. It left me with a lot more questions, I'm afraid. But it taught me a lot, too. My original name, for one thing. My friendship with the Man in the Moon, something I still don't really remember. I'll have some big decisions about which parts of my alternate story I want to weave into my world, and how.
I know I definitely have to get my hands on the next book. I may have to read them all before I can make a proper plan. But I'm going to do it. I'm going to. And I'm going to try to get Levi to take me to the library before work this morning.
So, with that in mind, I need to help get ready for work. Again, I'll write more as soon as I can.
/'*
That was quite the ordeal. The library didn't have the next book. They had three and four, but not two. The computer told me that three or four other libraries in the area had it, but not the one closest to Mairead's home.I apologized for taking so long—we ended up being a few minutes late for work—but Eren explained to me that we don't blame in this family. Not even ourselves. Whatever happens on Mairead's plane is a joint effort. We help each other and we pick up each other's slack and don't complain or find fault. It's a foreign concept to me. It will take some getting used to, but I think I like it.
I was pretty crestfallen at work, unable to provide much relief for the monotony. It was a busy day, though, so it went by in a bit of a blur.
On our break, we were able to find that another library would still be open when our shift ended, and we could easily get over there and back home in time to be at the ready in case we were needed at Mairead's second job. (She never thought she could handle two jobs, yet here she is.) We found our way over there and I decided to check out two and three, just in case I finished Bunny's book and couldn't get back to the library for a while.
Once I settled down at home to read, we got a phone call. From the second job. I'd have to wait until we got home again. I was very tired and not a little fed up when we got home. Only figuratively though—we didn't get a chance to eat supper until then, either.
So, I'm relieved to have the books and nervous all over again to see what they hold. I've kept a copy of North's book on our plane—we can take things on our plane and it doesn't disturb anything on Mairead's plane. That is wonderful when it comes to food. If someone takes the last soda, for instance, we can all take one from the single one that exists on Mairead's plane. Whoever is in front drinks that one and the rest of us have our copies. So we never have to worry about not having enough to go around.
I think I'll get back to visit Pitch again before I'm done with book two. I don't like to leave things too long without checking in, even if I can go back to whatever point I want with Leo's help. I think it's almost time to show North his story and ask for his advice. That should be a safe enough move. I guess if you can think of any reason why that might be an alarming error in judgment, you can speak up in a review or private message. But Eren and Levi think it's likely to go all right, so I don't think I'm being too rash.
I won't be going back until later tonight at least, so I have some time to get started on Bunny's story. I have to say, I'm extremely curious about this. I'm sort of hoping I'll find some secret from his past that I can tease him about. He is so fun to annoy. And so easy, too.
/'*
One final point before I post this short-ish chapter. Pitch had another name, too. If you don't want a book-spoiler, just jump to the author note at the end. His name was General Kozmotis Pitchiner. He used to fight the Fearlings, not command them. Fearlings are those creatures that are kind of like ghosts, only absorbent black instead of glowy white. Kind of like the Dementors of Harry Potter, if you like. Anyway, knowing that they used to be his enemies makes me realize that he didn't invent them. They didn't come from him. I have a feeling that may be an important point later on. Maybe the same is true of the nightmares. Maybe they wouldn't have turned on him in the end if he had actually made them from scratch.
I probably won't post again until I have more news from my world, so it may take a little while. I just don't want you to go through the agony of slowly getting to the bottom of things with me, and I don't want to spoil too much from the books, either. Still, I'm going to put a warning in the story description to make sure people know about the book influence coming in. Please comment if you can spare a moment. ~Jack