This is the Way the World Ends
By Bethe
~*~
Part Five
~*~
Melanie put a hand to her forehead and stretched her neck. She tried to sit up, but every muscle in her body screamed at her upon doing so. She groaned, then craned her neck to look out the car window.
"Where are we?" she asked in a voice that was thick from sleep. She watched the passing landscape while waiting for Jarod to answer.
"We're on I-44 at the moment," he said finally, after turning down the radio. "I need to make a pit-stop somewhere for gas, and my stomach tells me it's time for dinner," he remarked, a smile in his voice.
Slowly, Mel sat up. Every joint in her body made some kind of noise, it seemed. "I'm getting too old for this," she groaned after she'd gotten herself in an upright position. "Exactly in which one-horse town are we going to be making this pit stop?" she asked, slight disdain dripping from her tone.
"The next exit is for Joplin, Missouri," he continued in his cheerful tone, not letting her attitude get him down. "That sounds good, since I think I'm riding on fumes."
"Missouri?" Mel asked. "Missouri's a long way from D.C., Jarod. Have I been asleep that long?"
"You needed it," he replied.
"But, Jarod," she interrupted, "that means you've been awake this whole time! I could have taken over for you." Jarod simply shrugged. "No more, Jarod," she ordered, "After we stop, we're finding a hotel and spending the night. You need sleep, too."
Jarod looked over at her. He replied in mock seriousness, "Yes, Mommy."
"I'll make you think 'Mommy'," she shot back, winking. Jarod laughed as he flipped his blinker on and took the exit towards Joplin.
~*~
Fifteen minutes later, they were still cruising Range Line, the major commercial highway in Joplin. They weren't lost, simply trying to find a place where they wanted to eat.
"Jarod!" Mel exclaimed in frustration, "Just pick a place already!"
"Simmer, Mel," he murmured, looking back and forth for a restaurant that appealed to them. Finally, he pulled into the Great Wall, a Chinese/Mongolian buffet. They wordlessly got out of the car and stumbled into the restaurant. The hostess sat them at a table, ordered their drinks, and left. For a moment, neither Jarod nor Melanie could move.
"I think my butt fell off somewhere in Illinois," she commented with her eyes closed. Jarod, feeling in a joking mood despite his exhaustion, started to lean over to look. "Don't even try it, Lab Rat," Mel said quietly, her eyes still closed. "I still remember how to fire my 9mm."
"I believe you," he murmured around a chuckle. "What do you say we get our food? I'm starving." Melanie opened her eyes, smiled softly, then nodded. They both got up and filled a plate with food from the bar. All thoughts of the Centre and the previous week left their minds as they shared a friendly dinner.
~*~
"It isn't exactly the Hilton," Jarod commented while tossing his jacket on the bed.
"It's fine, Jarod," Mel reassured him. "I've stayed in worse." They both smiled at each other, then Jarod swayed and put an arm up against the wall to brace himself. She rushed to his side and grabbed ahold of his other arm. When he was stable, she ordered, "Bed. Now."
Jarod nodded and began to lie down on the floor. Instantly, he was jerked up from his position. "I said bed," Parker ordered. "I meant it."
"I'm fine on the floor, really," he said, nearly slurring the words. Mel clenched her teeth at his stubbornness. Then he closed his eyes and grasped at her arms tightly. True concern filled her.
"No, Jarod, you're about to collapse. You need a bed," she stressed, pulling him up with all her strength. "Now be a good little boy and listen to Mama Parker, okay?" she whispered teasingly. Jarod cracked a weak smile. The two of them managed to get him on the bed. His head had no more than hit the pillow when he fell asleep.
The effort of trying to move a man Jarod's size onto a bed caused Melanie to stumble slightly. She stood up straight after he was positioned and caught her breath. Then she sat down beside Jarod on the edge of the bed. She took in his appearance. He hadn't shaved in two days, so he was definitely developing the shadow. The stubble gave him a gruff appearance. His hair, however, balanced it out. He must have decided to keep the same haircut after the incident at Carthis, for it looked almost identical. The soft brown waves curled out around his brow, giving him a boyish appearance.
"He hasn't aged a day," she whispered to herself. She bit her lip as unbidden memories from Carthis flashed in her mind.
". . .you're every bit the outcast. . .just like me." The look in his eyes after that statement conveyed many things: heartache, hope, love. It had frightened her.
"Why is it that the one person I've been trained to distrust. . .to hate. . .to capture. . .is always with me during the most difficult moments of my life?"
"Maybe. . .it's supposed to be that way," he'd whispered, his face mere inches away from hers. The intensity of his gaze and his tone had caused her to hold her breath.
Then her mind called back their last moments before he boarded the plane. Had that night at Ocee's been a moment of weakness? Or was it a rare moment of clarity? Parker supposed she'd never know. It wasn't like she had given Jarod a reason to hope. Instead, what she'd done was just short of slapping him in the face.
For the first time in two years, Mel allowed herself to feel true regret over her actions; both at Carthis, and the years preceding. But she couldn't do anything about them now. Neither could she hope for a future. As she'd stated quite perfectly: there would be no "us".
~*~
Parker groaned softly in protest at the idea of waking up. Regardless, she opened her eyes and looked around. It was still dark. In fact, the clock read only three A.M. Then she heard Jarod saying something. She couldn't quite make it out, so she sat up in the chair she'd been sleeping in. She could hear him thrashing around a bit, so she stood up with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and shuffled to his side.
His face was scrunched into an expression of anguish. Little beads of sweat were appearing on his forehead. He took heaving breaths and clenched the sheets with his hands. "No," he whimpered. "Please? No. Don't!" He yelled out something unintelligible in a strangled voice. Parker took a step back. Then, Jarod cried out in rage. He began to thrash about madly, fists pounding the mattress.
Touch him, Darling, her mother's voice drifted in from nowhere. Ease his pain, Catherine Parker choked out. Not quite understanding, Parker moved forward anyway. She reached out, her hand trembling, until she made contact with Jarod's rough cheek.
Fear. Rage. Blood. Crying. Screaming. Hatred. Violation. Pain. Her younger self's screams. The boy, weeping. Major Charles in plane wreckage. Margaret pressing a gun to her temple. Lyle holding a cattle prod. Raines advancing with a syringe. Sydney, turning his back. Catherine Parker, lying in an elevator with eyes still open. Parker, herself, beside her mother; exactly identical, the smoking gun in her hand. Death.
These images struck her with the force of lightening and burned in her mind at only the briefest of touches. Gasping loudly, Parker clapped a hand to her mouth and stumbled backwards until she ran into the wall. She roughly slid into a sitting position while taking shrieking breaths. Then she drew her knees to her chest with her arms and rested her chin on them, rocking back and forth. She didn't blink. She didn't seem to see at all. She shifted into an Indian sit and wrapped her arms around herself, continuing to rock briskly.
Jarod's hand to her shoulder merely slowed her. She didn't stop, and she didn't blink. He sat down in front of her, Indian-style as well, and put his hands on her arms. "What's wrong, Parker?" he asked, trying to look in her eyes. "What dream did you have now?"
Slowly, Melanie quieted and looked into Jarod's eyes. She tilted her head, her eyes still vacant.
"Yours," she whispered.
"What do you mean?" he asked. He began to gently stroke her upper arms, hoping to offer some kind of comfort. Soon, she came back to reality.
"You were having a nightmare," she began, her gaze focusing. "I woke up and saw you. . .well, I could tell it wasn't a good one. Then I heard a voice, Mom's, telling me to touch you. To ease your pain." Jarod raised an eyebrow, but she continued. "I don't know why I did it. But I touched your cheek, and. . ." her mouth moved multiple times, but she was too choked up to progress. She shut her eyes, clenched her jaw, and took a deep breath. "When I touched your cheek, it was like I was transported into your nightmare. Jarod, I never knew. . ." she trailed off, trying to compose herself.
Jarod immediately reached between them and softly captured her cheek with his hand. "Don't worry, Mel. Nobody knows. Not even Sydney."
"But you expect him to," she replied. "In your dream, he's turning his back on you."
"You were in my dream," he commented distantly, sighing. Then he looked at the clock, and chuckled. "In another life," he mused, "your phone would be ringing right about now, and I'd be on the other end, waiting to torment you with another one of my never-ending riddles."
Parker smiled softly. "In another life," she repeated, nodding her head. Then she returned her gaze back to his eyes. "You should get back to sleep. You still don't look too good," she murmured, concerned.
"Gee, Miss Parker. You sure know how to make a guy's heart go a-flutter," he remarked sarcastically, knowingly mimicking her from only a few days before.
"Go to bed," she ordered after a groan. "See you bright and early."
"Parker, wait," Jarod interrupted, stopping her from getting to her feet. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.
"I'm not okay, Jarod. I won't be for awhile," she remarked cryptically. Then she went back to the chair she'd been sleeping in and sat down, looking distantly out the window and resuming her rocking.
~*~
Melanie's eyes darted between the map and the road. When she heard her passenger stirring, she asked, "Just exactly where are we going, Jarod?"
"Vegas," he replied hoarsely while sitting up.
"Vegas? Why Vegas?"
Jarod genuinely smiled before answering.
"To see an old friend."
~*~
"J-Man!" Argyle cried out while hugging Jarod. "Where ya been, man?"
"Busy," he replied, not giving any specifics. "You don't mind if we intrude, do you?" he asked as he stepped back from the embrace.
"Not at all, J-Dog. It's a mi casa es su casa type of thing," he said. "Besides, if it weren't for you, J-Money, I wouldn't me married to my lovely Mona." He smiled blissfully.
"The showgirl?" he asked incredulously.
"One and the same," commented a buxom blonde who'd emerged from the house. "Hi, Jarod. Argyle told me everything. But you'll always be Dick to me," she said with a smile on her face.
"Argyle?" asked Melanie, finally stepping forward.
"Yeah. My parents named me that because of this birthmark that I have. Wanna see it?" he asked while his hands moved for his waistband.
"I'd rather sleep with a leper," she replied calmly, shooting him the glare of death.
"Oh," Argyle drew out. "So you have what we like to call an animalistic fetish sorta thing?" he commented.
"A leper, you boob, is a person with a skin disease. It involves the flesh rotting right off your own body," she said disdainfully. "Yum."
"Enough, you two," Jarod said, putting the bickering to a halt. "Argyle, this is Miss Parker. Parker, this is Argyle, my old friend," he said a bit forcefully, hoping to make a point.
"The Miss Parker?" Argyle asked. At her nod, he shook his head. "If you only knew the stories J-Diddy's told me about you--" He was interrupted by a slap to the head from Jarod.
"Can we go inside before we make too much of a spectacle of ourselves?" Jarod asked. "Besides, I'm hungry." Melanie rolled her eyes. Argyle, rubbing his head, motioned for the visitors to enter before he did.
~*~
"So, J-pers, whatcha doin all the way over here in Sin City?" Argyle asked later that night, handing Jarod a bottle of beer before sitting across from him. Jarod took off the cap and took a swig before answering.
"I need your help."
"You? Need my help? No way!"
"Yes, Argyle. Parker and I both. We're going to need all the help we can get."
Argyle swallowed a mouthful of brew slowly as a look came over his face. "Why does that suddenly give me the creeps?" he asked hesitatingly.
"In time, Argyle. In time. Let's just have a nice visit together for now."
"Whatever you say, boss," he replied. "By the way, that Parker woman scares me," he muttered with a little shiver.
"She's frightened men of stronger character. You should be wetting yourself about now," Jarod chuckled. "So," he changed the topic, "You and Mona really hit it off, eh?"
"Oh yeah, J-Man," Argyle sighed, putting his bottle down. "I told you she was my destiny."
"I know, and I'm sorry I didn't believe you. Wonderful children, by the way," Jarod commented.
"I bet you're wondering how I pulled that one off, right?" After Jarod's nod, Argyle continued. "I treated them exactly opposite of how you'd told me the Centre had treated you. I made sure they knew they were loved, and that they were special. The rest is historical, as we like to say."
"It's history, Argyle. The rest is history," Jarod corrected lightly. There was a soft smile on his face. His eyes, however held a profound sadness that made Argyle genuinely wish for his good buddy to find happiness like he had with Mona. Jarod deserved it.
~*~
Melanie sat out on the back porch, watching the Nevada night sky. In the distance, she could see the strip. In another life, she would have been drawn by those lights, and would have lost a good deal of money. Now, she preferred to sit in a chair and watch them from afar.
The world had definitely changed. Mel's had, at least. However, she couldn't stop dwelling on the past. Carthis, to be exact. It had indeed been an island of the haunted. Too many of her own ghosts had pursued her there. Her whole world had crumbled apart. Her "father's" final lie was the catalyst for the conversion to Melanie Carlyle. Yet, despite Mr. Parker's continuous deceit and treachery, she desperately wanted to believe that he'd jumped from that plane for the right reason: to destroy the scrolls.
The scrolls. They had been weighing heavily on her mind lately. She still had no clue as to why; she'd all but forgotten about them in the two years since the incident. Another question plagued her: Why? Why the amnesia about the one thing that probably cost her mother her life? And why the sudden remembrance of them? Something her father said before he jumped kept sticking out in her mind.
"That's not how they say it ends."
~*~
Waving goodbye to Mona and the kids, Argyle, Melanie, and Jarod pulled away from the house and started on their way. Melanie looked at Argyle in the backseat. Then she reached back and touched his hand.
"It'll be okay," she said comfortingly. Argyle, a surprised look on his face, smiled briefly. Then she turned and faced the front, watching the passing landscape.
After a long silence, Jarod cleared his throat and announced, "Well, only ten more hours to go until we find a place for the night."
"Only?" Mel asked, then scoffed. "Can you believe this guy?" she directed at Argyle, who laughed.
"Tell me about it. The man has no sense of time. Did you know that when I told him about my love for my Mona, he didn't believe me. He said, 'You spent six minutes with her.' Six minutes was an eternity with her."
"You do love her very much, don't you?" she asked softly.
"Oh yeah. The kids, too."
"Charming children," she replied, slightly sarcastic.
"Look at you two," Jarod interrupted. "Having a civil conversation?" He placed a hand to his chest and shook his head slightly. "I'm getting a little farklempt. Go ahead, talk amongst yourselves," he said strangely in a New York accent while moving his hand in a circular motion. "Here, I'll give you a topic: a peanut is neither a pea, nor a nut. Discuss."
Parker looked back at Argyle.
"We have Comedy Central."
"Oh."
Jarod simply grinned and turned on the radio.
~*~
"Jarod, I'm soaked. I'm freezing. I'm about ready to kill you dead!" Parker bellowed while clutching her shirt tighter about her. Jarod shifted his penlight's aim from the dripping map in his hands to her face.
"I said I'm sorry, Parker. What more can I do?" A brilliant flash lit the area mere moments before thunder cracked about them, sending their hands up to cover their ears.
"Yeah, Miss Parker. He done apologized," Argyle butted in, trying to defend his friend. "This is the part where you forgive him."
"Okay," she replied with an odd smile. "Jarod, I forgive you for getting us lost. And for letting the gas tank go empty. In the driving rain. During a wild thunderstorm."
"Okay!" Jarod shouted. "I get the point." He looked to Argyle. "The nearest town is about three miles from here. Do you want to go ahead and find a hotel? Parker and I will get what luggage we can handle and meet you there." Argyle nodded. He got money from Jarod, then headed on his way.
Parker shot Jarod a look. "You just couldn't stop and ask for directions at, oh, I don't know. . .a gas station?!" she ranted while attempting to pull her feet from the mud. She eventually managed to get loose. Unfortunately, the force with which she had dislodged herself caused her to fall face first into the mud. Huffing angrily, Mel pushed herself up. After swiping the matted hair from her face, she crossed her arms and simply said, "I'm in hell. That's it. I'm in hell, you're Satan, and Argyle is one of your underlings." Jarod chuckled. "And what the hell are you laughing at?" she asked coldly. She opened her mouth to say more, but a sudden blinding light with a roaring crack following right on top of it silenced her protests.
Moments later, Mel felt the hairs on her neck slowly go down. "Jarod?" she called out, searching the ground with her hands. "Are you okay?"
From somewhere in the vast darkness, he called back, "I've been better. You?"
"I can't see."
"Neither can I. That lightening was too close."
"Jarod, do you smell smoke?" she asked while sniffing the air. Suddenly, she felt movement beside her. Then she felt Jarod's hands yank her away from her position and drag her along the ground. Before she could question, she heard a loud explosion and felt a blazing gust of air blow in her face. The force knocked the breath out of her. After a few horrifying moments, she chokingly sucked in cold air to her lungs. Then, her sight materialized just in time to see her car in flames.
Jarod sighed and sat up. He closed his eyes and said, "Well, now all we have left is what's in my backpack." He looked to Parker. "I'm so sorry, Mel."
"Don't apologize," she murmured, shaking her head. "It's nobody's fault that we're stranded here, okay? Let's just get to the hotel. I'm really cold." Jarod nodded and helped her up. She took a step. She stumbled, and would have fallen if Jarod hadn't moved his hands to stabilize her. Searing pain shot up from her ankle and moved up her leg.
"Parker, what's wrong? Your ankle?" he asked, concerned.
"Yeah. I think I sprained it trying to get out of the mud earlier. God, it hurts," she whimpered. "Help me."
"You're demanding?" he asked softly, raising an eyebrow.
Mel hesitated. "No," she replied, just as softly, "I'm asking. Please, help me?"
Jarod grabbed ahold of her hand, then recoiled instantly. "Your skin's like ice!" he exclaimed, not realizing that his skin felt the same to Parker. "C'mon, let's get you someplace warm."
~*~
The town that the trio had been stranded near had no hotels. However, it did possess one bed and breakfast, which was luckily vacant. This bed and breakfast had three rooms, exactly enough for each to have their own bed, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a shared den with fireplace.
Mel sat in front of the fireplace wearing one of Jarod's sweatshirts and a pair of his boxers. The shirt was at least three sizes too large, so it practically bared her shoulders. She had to roll the waistband of his shorts down multiple times, too. But she wasn't complaining. They were dry and clean. She couldn't ask for more.
Still, she shivered violently. She couldn't seem to get warm enough. Then Jarod walked through the doorway holding a steaming mug.
"It isn't exactly--"
"The monk's brandy?" she asked, chuckling dryly. Jarod gave her a quizzical look. "Sorry," she whispered, her eyes lowering. "I couldn't help it." A heavy silence fell between them.
"You remember," he murmured, moving to sit beside her. He offered the mug to her, and she accepted it with both hands.
"Yeah," she whispered before taking a sip. Another silence filled the room as the irony of the situation fell on them.
"Two years later, and we're still in the same spot," Jarod murmured.
"I've been having dreams lately," Mel commented, seemingly changing the subject.
"What about?" Jarod asked while turning his head away from her.
"Carthis." He turned back to look at her. "The scrolls."
"And what about them?" he asked after a brief pause. Melanie shrugged.
"I can't really say much about them, except for what happens right before I wake up."
"And what's that?"
"Daddy, patting the case that held them, and saying, 'That's not how they say it ends.'" The two looked at each other.
"That could mean anything," Jarod commented.
"I know. But it makes me think that finding the scrolls, or at least what's in them, is the key to taking down the Centre. The more I think about my previous plan of distributing information to federal agencies, I realize how futile that plan really was. The Centre has contacts, allies, at even the executive rank. One little FBI profiler wasn't going to rock the boat that much. It would just result in cover-up. Our only leverage is to get the scrolls. And finish what my mother must have been doing when she was killed."
"I was wrong," Jarod commented cryptically. Parker raised an eyebrow.
"About what?"
"We're not in the same spot," he murmured. They were silent for a long time; the fire cracked and popped noisily behind them. Mel shivered again, and it caught his attention. He found a blanket to his side and grabbed it. Then he draped it around her. They paused while looking in each other's eyes, a wave of déjà vu washing over them. Jarod's eyes held heartache, hope, fear, and love. The stunning realization that this was her chance to make up for past transgressions hit her with a force so astonishing that she almost gasped. At a turning point, she decided to follow her heart this time, instead of her mind. Her gaze lowered to his lips, then back to his eyes. After a few excruciating moments, he did the same, starting to move his head downward. Then the door opened.
"Sorry if I'm intruding--"
"Out!" they both exclaimed simultaneously. Argyle took in their sitting positions and could sense the intensity in the air.
"Sorry," he mumbled. He turned and walked out the door he came in, smiling.
"Now where were we?" Mel asked, looking in his eyes.
"Right about. . ." Jarod paused as he lowered his head until his lips were mere inches from hers. "Here," he whispered, bringing hand to her cheek. He softly stroked her cheek bone with his thumb. for a moment. Then he slid his index finger underneath her chin and drew her to him.
The moment their lips met, distant thunder sounded outside. But they didn't hear it. They paused, then both deepened the kiss at the same time. Mel wrapped her arms around his shoulders while his arms encircled her waist possessively. A soft moan escaped from her throat and a tear slid from her eye. When Jarod felt part of the tear hit his own cheek, he pulled away and looked at her in the face. He wiped it away tenderly and cocked his head slightly. "What is it?" he asked huskily.
"I have to go," she whispered, wide-eyed. Without another word, she got up and limped out of the den. Jarod ran his hands through his hair and sighed before getting up to follow her.
He cautiously opened her door and walked in, to find nobody there. Then he heard the shower down the hall turn on. He headed that way. When he neared the bathroom, he could hear her sobs as plain as day. He rubbed his face and took some deep breaths. He had a decision to make: should he let her be, or go to her?
The decision already made in his mind, he opened the bathroom door and walked in. The room was already steamed up, showing just how hot the water was. He could see her body, blurred from the shower curtain, and he was struck with the same feeling as that night on Carthis. Oddly enough, it wasn't sexual. It had purer motives than that. He was watching a creature of beauty, and he loved her.
Without hesitation, he shed his own clothes and stepped into the shower behind her.
~*~
Mel, her eyes closed, let the water sting her battered skin. She needed the pain to cleanse her soul. She gasped when she felt Jarod's hands on her shoulders. Without a word, he pulled her until her back was resting against his chest, and he wrapped one arm around her shoulders, the other around her waist. Then he gently kissed her neck and simply held her.
She couldn't stifle her sobs. She bowed her head and wept bitter tears. Jarod rested his forehead against the back of her head and whispered into her hair, "Just let it out, Mel. Let it all go."
The stressful events of that day, plus the days leading up to it, were relived and then released as she cried, clutching to Jarod's arms. After many minutes had passed, she quieted and let her head fall back against his shoulder, her temple resting against his jaw. Then she sighed and turned around, still in his arms. She closed her eyes and touched his face with her hands, memorizing the feel of his skin underneath her fingertips.
Jarod watched this in wide-eyed wonder. She was so beautiful. He couldn't resist. He placed his hands on her cheeks and drew her in for a kiss that was tentative at first. Then it developed into something deeper, something meaningful.
Mel moved a hand up through his hair and gently clutched a handful of it in her fist. Then she moved a few millimeters away and whispered against his lips, "Jarod, get a haircut." Then she moved farther back so she could see his face, and smiled.
"I happen to have it on good authority that chicks dig the long hair," he murmured, rubbing her slick upper arms.
"And what chick would you be trying to snag?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Jarod pulled her close and lowered his head. His lips barely touching hers, he whispered, "You," before capturing them in another kiss.
When they broke apart for air, Mel smiled widely. Then she raised her mouth to his and replied against his lips, "Good." They kissed once more.
"You do realize that we're naked, don't you?" she asked after it had ended. Jarod looked down between them and shrugged.
"I'm don't want you that way. . .um. . .I mean, I do, but. . .I should just stop, shouldn't I?" he asked, embarrassed.
"I understand what you mean," Mel chuckled and stroked his cheek. "And I feel the same way. But we should really get out, because I'm going to be wrinkled like a prune. And we know that that sure ain't attractive," she commented before moving to get out of the shower.
Jarod stayed behind for a few moments while his mind tried to grasp what had just happened. Then he heard, "Catch, Wonder Boy," right before a towel flew into the shower. Parker peeked her head past the curtain and winked before ducking back out again.
Jarod couldn't help but smile to himself. Things were starting to look good again, on all fronts.