Disclaimers, ratings, name, etc can be found in prologue
Author's notes: Wanted to thank some new reviewers: EnishiYukshiro & Danielle L. Bartlett, thanks for taking out time to drop me such cool notes! I'm glad so many people are enjoying this story, it makes me feel as if my hard work is actually paying off…
Lena (Airelle Vilka): There is indeed more to Samara than one would think. At least in my fic there is. Just wait and see…ohhh I am so devious! ^_^
Also felt I should point out that this is the longest chapter in the story thus far (clocking in at 8 pages) and I hope to keep it that way.
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Chapter 4
The Colorado skyline was the same glorious color as a peach's skin - orange blended perfectly with red and pink. Alice Johnson wiped the dirt off her jeans as she rose to her feet. The flowerbed in her front yard was coming along nicely this year. She set down her gardening tools and wiped a hand over her sweating brow.
She looked at the setting sun and shook her head, walking towards her back yard. The red barn door was open and in an enclosed fence her son, Jacob, was riding his horse rather hard. She leaned against the side of their home, watching as he encouraged the horse onward, his heels digging into its side.
The horse breathed harder as it approached its' first hurtle. Its' powerful hind legs worked like an oiled machine, pumping out a ferocious amount of energy as it made the first leap with ease, clearing the bars. It approached the next obstacle, this one a bit higher and once again, cleared it with no problem.
Finally it began its' approach for the third hurtle and Alice bit her bottom lip, worrying it between her teeth. Jacob's horse had never cleared this particular jump, despite how many times he'd tried and this time, for her son's sake, she hoped they'd make it.
She could hear Jacob's voice, it was steady but slightly urgent, begging the horse to clear it this time. They drew nearer and nearer and Alice crossed her fingers. Just as the horse was about to jump it balked, rearing back. Jacob let out a cry as he fell backward, landing hard on his back as he was tossed off.
His mother cried out, rushing to his side as if on fire. She leapt effortlessly over the fence and was next to him in an instant, questions spilling out of her mouth like a torrent. Jacob shook his dark head in disgust, pushing her off, "Mom, I'm fine, Jesus Christ, stop hovering over me…"
Alice whipped out a quick hand to the back of his head, causing a sharp 'ouch' to leave him as she glared, shaking a finger at him, "Don't use the tone of voice with me, young man! Or that language!"
"Muh-oom!" he whined but she merely shook her head, arms looping under his to help him to his feet. The horse had trotted its way back over and had a rather apologetic look in its eyes. Alice took the reigns that had dropped down and patted its nose, as Jacob remarked, "Rick still refuses to do the jump. I know he can do it, I know it! I just wish he'd know it, you know? I mean who ever heard of a horse with self esteem issues?"
Alice smiled at the mention of the horse's name. It was an unusual name for a horse but she was the one who had convinced her son to name it after his deceased uncle. Hearing the name again, having it attached to a living being, it made the pain of her brother's loss a little easier to bear. She sighed, "Horses are not that far below people on the evolutionary ladder, Jacob. They think, have feelings…"
"I know and that's what I love about them but…I mean, we really need to get Rick in shape."
"For what? The tournament? Jacob, I know how much you want to enter and how much you want to win but it's okay if it's not this year, next year you can-"
He cut her off, "Next year? Next year! That's what you said last year and the year before that, no, Mom, we need to be in the tournament this year and we need to win. If not first place at least second, the money…"
"Jacob, we're not that hard up for money. I know things have been scarce this year with the farm but…it's not all that bad."
Jacob shook his head, "You just don't understand, Mom, that money would really help. I know that and you do too and," he paused, running hand through his hair as he looked rather sheepish, "and I want to do this for you."
Alice couldn't help but beam, "I know you do, kiddo."
She drew him close and planted a kiss on his forehead, "And I appreciate it, I really do. But we'll be fine. I promise. And I know you do what you can and that's all I ask of you. Besides, you know your grandfather's still tossing in his two cents…"
"Yeah, I've seen the checks come in," Jacob laughed, "How is Grandpa anyway?"
"Good, good. He's been talking about coming to visit soon."
"Awesome, I can show him how much better Rick is getting. I mean, sure, he hasn't cleared the third hurtle still but he has shown improvement since the last time Grandpa was down, don'tcha think?"
"I don't think, I know," Alice laughed, "Now how about you go inside and make a salad, hmm? I'll cook us up some fish."
"Filet?"
"Yes, yes, no bones, Mr. Picky. Now get to work, hmm? And remember to toss in lots of tomatoes." She pushed Jacob forward and he went trotting off at full pace.
As she watched him go she sighed. It was so strange living all the way out here, she had never imagined herself as the kind to live on and manage a farm. A few years ago she wouldn't have even dreamed of it. She hadn't known the first thing about horses, cows, chickens, crops…but she had learned it all and enjoyed it far more thoroughly than she would have thought possible.
Being a country girl…it was rather pleasant. And it did give her a chance to do a lot of gardening. It was nice, giving back to the earth, doing something creative. It sure was better than working in some lousy Diner from nine to five. Not that she had imagined herself as a waitress forever either.
No, wait, at one time she had, she could even remember it…
But she chose not to. She had put all that behind her. Buried her past, her memories, just as she had buried all her friends, her only brother, the love of her life, Jacob's father, Dan…
Buried it because of him.
She shuddered and rubbed her arms. No, no, she couldn't think of him. It did better not to dwell on her time in Springwood. Her time on Elm Street. Time with the Nightmare Man.
His name bounced in her head for a split second and it took all her strength not to let an anguished 'NO' burst from her lips. He was gone. Gone, gone, gone! He was dead and forgotten. She had to keep it that way, the same as she had done with her friends.
She couldn't forget Rick and Dan because Jacob needed to know about them but the others she had dislodged from her memory. It was painful in some ways, to drop them like that, to force herself to forget. But she had to. She couldn't risk remembering him and the fear…
She may have defeated him but digging up memories would only dig up feelings and she couldn't lie and say she hadn't been afraid when she'd been in his grasp…
Freddy.
She shook her head again and began jogging towards the house, clearing her mind. No wandering thoughts, no more daydreams, and more importantly, no more nightmares.
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"..and then Lindsey said, get this, 'maybe you and I can hang out sometime', can you believe that?!" Jacob asked excitedly.
Alice gave her son a warm smile, despite the fact that she was still uneasy by her earlier reminiscing, "That's great, sweetheart."
"Mom, are you okay? You've been real quite and you're - um - kinda pale."
She let out a breath and pushed away some of the blonde strands of hair hanging in front of her face. She tugged at her thick braid of hair and tried to lighten her mood, "No, I'm fine, baby. I'm just…distracted. Please forgive me."
Jacob nodded, dropping the subject but he knew something was wrong. In fact, something was always a little wrong. Every now and then his mother drifted off to some place in her mind where he could not reach her. He wouldn't have minded so much if it wasn't for the fact that she always looked so haunted when this happened.
He knew she had never truly gotten over his father's death. In fact, since he had died, she had not even gone out on a date. Not one. Jacob wouldn't have even minded if she had, in fact he encouraged her all the time to get out - to make friends in the very least. But she would always shake her head and say he was all she needed.
It was flattering but also disturbing. He knew something was wrong with her but she would never tell him what and he didn't have the heart to push it. He wished in vain that she'd see some man, get the love and attention she deserved, the kind he couldn't provide but she was steadfast to her celibacy. It wasn't easy, being a child without any kind of male role model.
Oh sure, he had his grandfather, but that was about it and that man lived miles away. Jacob had even tried to ask him once about what could possibly be troubling his mother but the older man kept his mouth firmly shut. All he would say was that Jacob shouldn't poke his nose too deeply into other people's business, his mother's life, was her own.
But how could he help her if no one told him what was wrong?
If no one opened up?
He knew his uncle had tragically passed away at a young age, as had his father, but he found it strange how the two people were hardly even mentioned, almost as if they were to be forgotten. Sometimes he caught his mother looking into the mirror in her room. She'd open the dresser drawer and draw out some pictures and she would start crying as if her heart would break.
Jacob wanted to rush to her at those times, to hold her in his arms and tell her everything would be fine but he restrained himself. He couldn't risk her knowing he'd stumbled into something that was obviously so private, so personal.
And it was strange, knowing that she had had him so young, that she had missed out on so much. He knew his pregnancy hadn't been planned, that much was obvious but it was also obvious he was not an unwanted birth. She loved him and cared for him and never once bemoaned about how it could have been.
She was as much his friend as his mother and it was nice having the balance. In fact, they hardly ever fought. His friends were terribly jealous, always telling him how cool his mother was and it was hard not to brag. Alice Johnson was a wonderful woman and mom, he couldn't have asked for better.
Even if he did feel at times that she was shutting him out, maybe even lying to him. He could vaguely remember when he was young how she would always interrogate him. Always wondering about his dreams. It was so strange that she would ask.
But she did.
Every morning that he could remember, from toddler up, she always asked about what he had dreamed about the night before. Most of the time she was satisfied with his responses, almost looking relieved as he told her about the dream car he'd driven or the pseudo shopping he'd done.
It had grown harder as he'd gotten older, he'd had to blustered and blush his way through explanations, not wanting to reveal his more personal dreams - the ones about girls. In time she finally dropped the whole thing, apparently appeased that his nights were normal. But why had she gone through so much trouble in the first place?
He imagined it tied in to the one, and only, time she'd asked him if he remembered some burned man. It had been such a strange day when she'd come to him, her eyes wide with some kind of unspoken terror. She'd clutched his arms, blue eyes blurry with tears and whispered, "Do you remember meeting me…before you were born?"
He'd thought her a lunatic and basically told her so, as much as it embarrassed and hurt him to do so. How could he remember meeting her before he was born? And some burned man? Who was she talking about? But she never elaborated, once he'd told her no and questioned her sanity she had changed the conversation effortlessly and at that time he had had no interest in pursuing it.
Now he did but he had no footway into that kind of topic. He didn't know how to bring it up without causing that look in her eyes to return. He could remember that time she'd asked - the fear there. He didn't ever want to see that on his mother's face again, he couldn't bear it.
And so he kept his mouth shut and they went about day to day in the same kind of cycle. Until today.
Jacob had gotten up from the table after his mother's shaky answer, sighing as he went to check the mail. He'd totally forgotten about it, but then, they hardly received much. Not to mention going to the box was a hassle, seeing as it was quite a ways down the road.
Still, he couldn't stand watching his mother sit through another of her spells, so he pulled on his sneakers and began the jog to the box. The sky, which had earlier been so gorgeous, had now somehow changed to a rather ominous blue. He looked up to see clouds and wondered mildly if it would rain as he finally reached the metal box.
He was surprised to see several things jammed inside and he swiftly yanked them out, turning to start up the road to his home again. Thunder rumbled above and the first few drops began to fall as he reached the porch.
He slammed the door behind him as he went inside. He made a beeline to the living room, purposefully avoiding the kitchen as he flopped down on the couch and tossed through several articles - most of it junk mail - when he reached a rather strange package.
There was no return address and it merely read his and his mother's name. He looked from side to side, wondering if she was still in the kitchen. He had gone straight to the living room, away from her because whenever she got into one of 'those moods' he had found it best to leave her alone until she was out of it. When she felt like talking and being herself again, she usually approached him, acting as if nothing had happened.
He felt the package over. It was badly wrapped in brown paper and he felt one lump inside. He wondered whether or not he should bother his mother with this piece of news. It was very unusual for them to get something in the mail, especially something like this and something addressed to not one, but both of them.
Jacob shook his head, figuring it probably wasn't that important. Most likely it was something his grandfather had sent and forgotten to address. It wasn't too much of a stretch, Mr. Johnson was getting on in years and did forget things from time to time.
With this in mind, Jacob ripped open the package (after all, it was addressed to him and Alice, which meant he had as much a right to open it as she did) and something fell out and landed on his lap.
It was a tape.
A blank VHS tape with nothing written on it, no markings whatsoever. He held the tape in his hands, eyebrows drawn together in confusion. He turned it over in his hands, this way and that, shaking it near his ear even. Hmm, odd. Who could have sent this?
It was rewound to the beginning and weighed like any other tape. It seemed entirely harmless. Maybe some taped school event he did not know about? He couldn't remember the last school activity he'd been involved in but who knew?
He shrugged and looked up, seeing the television across from him. Thunder exploded outside, the sound of the rain growing rather loud now as he rose to his feet. Lightning streaked the sky and illuminated the T.V screen momentarily.
He walked over, tape in hand. He looked outside. God, it sure was pouring all the sudden. It hadn't rained this hard in what felt like a dog's age. Jacob watched the rain pelt down punishingly on the ground, then felt his gaze land once more on the television set and more directly, the VCR.
He clicked on the set and powered the VCR, channel 3 greeting him as the tube came to life with an array of bright color, awashing his skin warmly like an old friend. He pushed in the tape and then strode back to the couch, lifting up the VCR remote.
"What are you doing?"
Jacob turned, startled to see his mother standing there. The look from earlier had disappeared and she seemed rather normal now as she strode over, resting a hand on the couch, eyes down on him as he rested, remote in hand.
"Nothing."
"You went to get the mail?"
"Yeah, I mean, after dinner I figured…"
"You don't always get the mail after dinner, Jacob," she sighed, folding her arms, "You forgot to clean your dishes."
He blushed, "Sorry, Ma, won't happen again. I just…"
"I know," she whispered, looking away, "I know."
Not wanting his mother to return to that far off place he offered a perky grin, "We got something in the mail, a tape, you want to see?"
Alice's head turned to him sharply, eyes wide, "A tape? From who?"
"I dunno but it was addressed to both of us, probably from school or grandpa or something, let's see."
"Jacob…" Alice was about to tell him not to push play but it was too late. The tape started to roll and channel 3 disappeared, replaced with static snow. Alice's heart was racing but she couldn't explain why. Nothing was happening, in fact, the tape appeared to be blank.
And then it began.