Chapter 6: Random Coincidence
Several days pass, and we rejoin our story on a cold evening. The skies are clear, but the ground still shows signs of a light shower from earlier. Jason walks down a street barren of people, just as the street lights come on. The warm yellow glow reflects off the soaked, bumpy concrete, giving a soft sparkling effect as he walks. However, Jason is almost totally oblivious to the simple beauty as his gaze if fixed on the sidewalk in thought. He begins thinking to himself, just trying to work out the things bothering him.
"Why can't I get her out of my mind? That green girl, Avoline. She is such a mystery. Oh well, she is of no importance. I mean, I could've eliminated her without any difficulty, right? Ohhhh...then why can't I stop thinking about her?! Then there is that Ann girl. She has been the closest thing to a friend I've had since I came here. Well, she's the only friend I've had other than the ones I've created myself. Heh but I mustn't forget why I am here. I have to find that treacherous family of mine so they can't become a cause for concern. I shouldn't be concerned with petty issues. (He stops) Love...ha! What a waste. It only provides a distraction. To love something or someone...it adds weakness, dependence. I wasn't meant to love. Anything and everyone I love are either killed or betray me. (Pauses, then looks down and sighs) That can't be it, can it? I have to have a soul...or did it die with Sarah? Sarah...Sarahwhy did you have to leave me...my beloved sister...you showed me how to be human, but you were stolen from this life by evil beyond evil. Your light forever gone from all of us. I swore on that day I would avenge you and make sure no more innocent people had to die. I dedicated my life to it, knowing the only way was to enforce the laws given by God and man effectively was through the guiding protection of my Special Forces. I will control it all, so all will finally live in happiness under my right and fair judgement. But, at what cost has this dream come? Is my very happiness and life worth another's? Did I forget what Sarah gave me just so I could realize the product of my sorrow? God, give me a sign! Tell me, show me that I haven't lost my ability to care." Jason successfully held back the tears that he promised he'd never shed again as he waited without really expecting anything to happen.
A crashing noise comes from the trash cans in the alley, followed by the sound of eating.
"What the heck? What was that?" asks Jason. He walks over to the source of the noise, when he spots one of the trashcans moving. Out of it comes a German Shepherd, gnawing on a bone. It looks very thin and dirty.
"Heh heh, a dog. Well, good luck finding food in there. (Jason looks closer and sees blood trickle down its right arm.) Dear Jesus! You're hurt! Poor thing, and in these conditions that thing will definitely become infected."
Jason steps closer to the dog, only to have it growl at him. Jason still walks toward the dog with his hand out; the dog backs away, still growling.
Jason speaks to it in a soft, concerned voice to calm the dog. "It's ok boy. You can trust me, I won't hurt you. I only want to help. Come on..."
The dog's growl diminishes as Jason gets closer and continues speaking to it. As Jason finally reaches the dog and begins to stroke its fur gently, the German shepherd begins to give a low whine and lick Jason's hand.
"That's a good boy. Here, let me help you." Jason spends the next hour cleaning the dog's wound and bandaging it. It was a worse cut than Jason first thought, which started from the dog's throat and across its shoulder blade. The dog's injuries were cleaned and he was ready to go off on his own.
"All right, you're set to go." says Jason, standing up. "Goodbye." Jason turns around and begins to walk away. The dog sits up, tilts his head and gives a grunt of bewilderment, followed by a whine. It immediately runs up to Jason and trails him by a few feet. Jason turns around to be greeted by that same dog sitting behind him, wagging its tail.
"Oh no! You are not gonna follow me. You have to go your own way. Now go! Go on!" says Jason, trying to stop the dog from following him.
The German Shepherd just gives a big yawn, gets up, and walks in the other direction.
Satisfied that the dog had left, Jason turns and goes on his way. After a few blocks, he hears the treading of claws on the sidewalk. Jason quickly turns around, but sees nothing. He shakes it off, thinking it was just his imagination or something.
He takes another step, which is followed by that sound again. Another step, another paw on concrete. Jason turns around again, and still doesn't see a thing. Just a light post, trash cans, and houses.
"Wait a minute..." whispers Jason to himself. He sneaks up on a trash can and looks behind it. There he sees a big furry face with a tongue hanging from the mouth.
"You again?! Ok, you have to stop following me. Now go!"
The dog just looks down the street, acting as if it wasn't paying attention.
"Hey! I know you're listening, so go! Go!"
The dog still looks down the street and gives a big yawn.
Jason growls a bit and then walks away. He looks back and sees that same German shepherd following him! Jason walks faster, the dog walks faster. After another block of this, Jason turns around to yell at that pesky dog.
"All right you! Listen up! I'm tired of you-hey!" says Jason, until the dog walks up and just sits there, staring at him. After a few seconds, Jason gives in.
"(Quietly) All right, you can come with me." says Jason. The dog tilts its head to the right and gives a 'What was that?' grunt.
"You can come live with me, now don't push it! And fair warning, I lead the greatest army under God's very own." says Jason, a bit louder than before. He couldn't believe he just boasted to a dog, but he let it go. Jason turns around and resumes his walk back to his home. The dog simply runs up to Jason and then walks with him the rest of the way. When they reach Jason's house, the dog immediately runs over to the living room rug and lies right down in front of the TV. Jason laughs, and then sits on the couch.
"You know, you must have a lot of training if you understand me that well. But moving on, we have to give you a name. Let me think...how about...Rush?" asks Jason to the nameless German shepherd. The dog just looks at Jason and yawns.
"Ok, how about Trooper?"
Another yawn.
"Spike?"
The dog gives a grunt and another disapproving yawn.
"Fine, Thunder."
The dog sits there and looks at Jason. After a few seconds, he yawns again.
"Hey, if we don't find you a decent name, I'm calling you Yanni! You know, Yawn-y' ah forget it." jokes Jason.
The dog just lowers its head and puts a paw on its nose, followed by an embarrassed growl.
"How about...hmmm...I know! Ranger!"
The dog looks up at Jason, then after a short pause he wags his tail.
"All right! Ranger it is! Now Ranger, it's time for a bath. I don't want you getting dirt all over the place."
Ranger just lays back down, turns his head to look in another direction, and yawns. This was gonna be interesting.
-
Jumping ahead again, about a good two weeks, we dwell upon a much lighter and much drier scene. The temple on Cherry Hill is treated to a cloudless sky under which birds are singing, bees are buzzing, and a familiar (or unfamiliar, your pick) peace settles.
"Hi Jack! Nice to see you again!" yells the pink haired youth, Rini. The sun shines upon her face as she runs up the freshly swept steps of the temple to Jack. Jack waves to greet his friend, and continues his task of raking the leaves. Everyone else had left to do whatever, and they left Jack in charge.
"Nice to see you to Rini. How is your day going?" says Jack, still watching what he was doing.
Rini sighs and says, "Oh, it's ok. Hey, are we the only ones here?"
"Yeah, everyone wanted to go somewhere but me, so I got to stay behind. Who would leave a 10 year old in charge of a temple?!"
"Well, you ARE very mature for your age. I know! I'll stay here with you and we can pretend this is our house! We can take care of it together like we were married!"
Rini's tone of voice had a sly hint to it, which Jack immediately caught. An ancient rivalry kicks in "Oh please, girls have cooties or something! I can handle this myself!"
"Oh, come on Jack! It's not like I'm your girl-friend or something. Lemme just help you. Besides, boys are dumb." Rini's mild retort began a short name-calling war between them.
"Girls are the dumb ones!"
"Girls are smart, and pretty, and...and..."
"And icky!"
"Boys are icky!
"Girls are dumb, icky, cootie-carryingstupids!"
"Oooh, nice comeback! How long did it take you to plan that one out?"
"Oh SHUT UP!!"
"See? Look who's stupid now!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Boys are dirty, disgusting morons!"
"All girls do is play with dolls all day!
"Boys play with dolls!"
"Those are NOT dolls! They are ACTION FIGURES!"
"They're dolls! Dolls, dolls, dolls!"
"Oh whatever! I don't wanna talk to you!"
"I don't want to talk to you either!" With that said, Rini sticks out her tongue at him and then bolts down the steps so she would retain the last word.
Jack turns away and rakes faster so he can hurry up and leave. The last thing he wanted now was to hang around here with that little brat around. He just used his anger to help speed up the work.
"Lousy...stupid..." mumbled Jack to himself, expressing what he felt about Rini.
The next half-hour was peaceful, giving Jack time to cool off.
"I'm sorry..." says Rini, taking Jack by surprise. She apparently went back up to Jack without him looking.
"Oh great, Rini wants to say somethingWhat are you doing back here?" says Jack in a rude tone.
"I'm really sorry Jack. I know what I said was mean." Rini keeps her head down, showing she's sorry.
Jack tries to think of how his elder siblings would react. Would he apologize right out too like Jacob? Would he pretend that all's forgiven with a smiling and laughing no harm, no foul' attitude as Jake would normally do? Or maybe a it was all your fault, but I'll forgive you anyway' like Jay would do? (of course he'd put in a heh, just kidding bout the "all your fault"' part now with Rei) Ah, this is too confusing. That, and he's been keeping Rini waiting for a few seconds too long. He's gonna handle it his way like the others handle it their way – from his heart. Just like Jason used to tell them
"Hmmm...It's ok Rini. I forgive you. Besides...I guess...(says it fast) I was mean to."
"Hee hee, thanks Jack." Rini's smile lights up like a Roman candle as leans over and plants a kiss on Jack's cheek.
Jack blushes a bit, but then realizes...
"EWWW! YOU KISSED ME!" Jack wipes off his cheek a few times, blurting things about cooties, germs, etc. In reality, Jack kinda enjoyed the kiss, but there was no way he'd let her know that...
-
"All right Ranger, I'll take you for a walk. Let me put a leash on you first." Says Jason to Ranger, who is jumping around and scratching the door, yearning for the outdoors. Ranger sits and wags his tail as Jason hooks the leash onto his collar. Ranger bolts out as soon as Jason opens the door, yanking him out with him. Don't worry, Jason manages to keep up with the pace before he's dragged.
"All right, where do you wanna go? I know! How about the park?" asks Jason.
Ranger acknowledges by turning in the direction of the park and walking with his tongue dangling out of his mouth.
As Jason and Ranger head toward the park, Ann makes her way down one of the park's paths.
"Wow, it's so nice today. I wonder...could today be any better?" sighs Ann.
Just then, Ranger runs over to Ann with Jason holding his unhooked leash. Ranger walks around Ann, sniffing her.
"Hi Ann! Great to see you!" greets 'James.'
"Hey! (giggles) Stop that! Hi James! Who's the dog?" Ann manages to get out.
"Oh, he is a dog I found. Don't worry, I gave him his shots and all, so he's clean. I just wish I knew how he got free from the leash!" Jason kneels, attaches the leash back onto Ranger and stands back up again.
"You gave him his shots?" asks Ann, raising her eyebrow.
"Me? Oh, uh no. Heh heh...I had a vet do it." Says James, trying to cover his minor slip up. It might have been just a playful joke on her part, but for security reasons he has to remember that 'James' isn't the genetic genius and such as Jason is. As Jason talks, Ranger just stares at the two of them. Ranger then yawns and sits down.
"Awwww, that's so cute!" Says Ann, petting the dog. "What's his name?" Ranger just nuzzles her hand with his nose and licks it.
"His name's Ranger, and he's a great dog. He seems to like you alot... So Ann, how is your day going?"
"Oh, just fine. Yours?"
"Great! And it is even better that I'm with a friend." says Jason/James.
"Yeah, I'm glad I found you. Now I can share such a lovely day with someone I love...er, as a friend!" Says Ann as she makes the save.
James smiles and sighs. "Yeah, it's good to spend such a lovely day with someone you care for – a friend, I mean. If I had to spend today with anyone, I'm glad it is with a friend like you Ann." James unknowing began to speak in his kind, thoughtful voice. Jeez, how many times did they use the word friend'? Ah, four times. If you add in mine the friend' total would be fiveno, sixwhatever.
Ann smiles and speaks in a tantamount (equal in effect) voice. "Thank you James. You are a great friend." (Seven!)
Ranger had been watching the whole conversation, and has had enough of all this friend' business. He immediately gets up, and begins to sniff around the ground. He 'accidentally' walks around James and Ann, using the leash to bring them closer together.
"RANGER!" Yells both James and Ann at the dog. Ranger just sits in front of them and gives another big yawn, letting the leash dangle from his collar.
"Heh, sorry Ann, he's-"
"-not all that smart or very clever..." says Ann, finishing his sentence.
"Yeah. All right, ok, now let's step out." suggests James, looking at the tangle. Ann nods in agreement and they both try to unwind the leash and get out. When the leash is loose enough they try to step out backwards, only to trip and fall on their bottoms. They both hit the ground at the same time and remain there for a few seconds. Upon realization of what just happened, the two begin to laugh.
As the laughter slows to a stop, Jason and Ann just say to themselves, "Today might not be so bad..."
After the leash incident, Jason (still posing as James, thank you) and Ann walk together through the park. The day slips by as they continue to talk about whatever comes to mind, with Ranger apparently listening intently. Jason and Ann just look at the German Shepherd and give him a grumble with quick rub on the head whenever they suspect him of eavesdropping too much. The sky turns from a light blue to a red orange in what seems like half the time it should've. The two (or three if you count Ranger) find themselves sitting at a bench, watching the sunset.
"Wow...you know, sunset has always been my favorite time of day. It is so beautiful..." says Jason, sharing his thoughts.
"Yeah, I like sunset the best too. The calm that comes with it. And you now that in an hour or so it will become dark, which makes you enjoy the fleeting colors more" Says Ann, turning to look at him.
After a few seconds she catches herself (not before Jason did) and she quickly looks back at the spectacle. Jason then smiles, seeing her face blush and says, "Heh, God's the best painter I know!" to kinda ease the tension a bit.
Jason and Ann see a bug fly in front of them, diverting their attention. When it gets a good distance closer to them, they both slap their hands together. The result being they both miss and the bug high-tailing it out of there. The fact they both went for the same thing sets in. They chuckle a bit at the ironic situation, and then sigh.
"Well Annie, it's getting late. We should go home now. (to Ranger) This has definitely been your longest walk..." says James.
"All right James. Hey, I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"
"Sure! Hey, let's meet up somewhere. How about..."
"All right, but where could we meet?" asks Ann.
"I'm thinking! I'm thinking! Heh heh." responds James. They both sit, watching the sun's last few minutes before it sets into the mountains, trying to think of a place.
"I know, the...nah..." begins Ann, who immediately dismisses the idea.
"We could meet at the...no, not there..." says James, trying to come up with something.
"Ah screw it, let's meet at the café where Elizabeth works." says Ann.
"Eliza-who?"
"Oh, that's right, you've never met Liz. She's a friend of mine, along with Serena and the rest. Well, you'll meet her." says Ann, getting up with James.
"Ok. I'll meet you at the café tomorrow at, say, 3 o'clock." says James.
Ann smiles and says, "Sure, 3 o'clock. Hey, and after that we could go somewhere."
"That would be great. Oh well, have a nice evening Ann." says Jason, waving to his friend as he walks with Ranger.
"You too James! See you then!" yells Ann. She then sighs again and starts on the way back to her house.
-
Jay, Jake, Jacob, and Jack sit around the table. They are busy eating some beef stroganoff when Rei and her grandfather walk in.
"Grandpa, you mean Chad still won't come down from the mountains?" yells Rei.
"Rei, Rei, calm down! He said the mountains inspire his music. Let him relax!" yells back Grandpa.
"Hey, calm down you two or you'll get a time out!" Jokes Jay. "Besides, the further Chad is from here, the better!"
Rei's just about to say something when Jake nods and says, "Yeah, without him here it is so peaceful! All that lousy singing...yeesh!"
"Now wait you two. We mustn't be so judgmental. He is trying to improve his bad singing...even if he just can't sing in the first place..." says Jacob.
Jake laughs at his little brother. "Ha! Even you make fun of him!"
Jacob cracks a smile and laughs too. "You're right! Oh well, I guess I'm only human..."
Rei smiles too, and gives a forced annoyed sigh.
"Yeah, and his singing is nothing like Rei's. Have you guys heard her sing? It's like an angel sighing..." adds Jay.
Rei looks at Jay and in gratitude, but a hint of wonder of why he said that. "Thanks Jay... you can be so sweet at times."
"No prob, love. Only speakin' the truth!" responds Jay.
Jack finishes his food, and then asks, "Hey Jacob, weren't you supposed to go to Lita's today so she could teach you some new recipes?"
"Uh, no, that's tomorrow." says Jacob, lowering his head to hide his blushing. "And we are going to share some cooking tips."
"Um, I don't mean to sound rude or whatever, but did you leave anything for us?!" interrupts Rei, her anger rising.
The four boys look at the empty pot of stroganoff as sweatdrops form down the back of their heads.
"Heh, no worries Rei, I actually saved a bit for you, but I put it in the fridge so no one could get to it. I'll heat it up in a few minutes for ya." assures Jay.
Rei's expression brightens at the thoughtfulness of Jay's actions. "Thanks again Jay. You're more of a blessing then a curse."
"I'll...take that as a compliment..."
