The Omega Web written by JayVitolo
Disclaimer: I didn't own the right before, I don't own them now and probably never will. Read The Ouroboros Chronicles before you go further. I will not be held responsible for any confusion. This contains dark subject matter. Read at your own risk.
His latest pretend as a physical education teacher at Regelton Area High School of Perry, Pennsylvania is now finished. The next-door neighbor of Lucy Speeling has been arrested for sexual assault and will be serving a long prison sentence. He smiles at the thought. He doesn't have to be helping people anymore; he could live a normal life. But this is all he's known for the past seven years and as the days go by, he learns more about the life he missed.
He walks into the secretary's office holding a letter in his left hand. "Excuse me Mrs. Gilmer, is principal Fulmer in?"
The older secretary looks up and smiles at the man in front of her desk. "Why yes Mr. Fisher. He just came back for lunch and I'm sure he'd love to see the "students' favorite" teacher. I'll call you in."
He smiles at the flattering comment as the secretary picks up her phone. "Jarod Fisher is here to see you. I'll send him right in."
She looks up at Jarod and he gets the idea. She leads him to the door and it opens with principal Fulmer behind it. "Jarod, what can I do for you?"
Jarod hands him the envelope and clears his throat. "I've been offered a teaching job at Oxford University."
The principal looks at the letter and then back at Jarod. "Wow. You must've impressed some important people." He turns to his door and signs the letter. "Good luck to you. We'll miss ya."
Jarod shakes the older man's hand and goes to leave but is stopped by Mrs. Gilmer. "Mr. Fisher. Before you leave, this got here this morning." She reaches under her desk and pulls out a brown box.
Jarod picks it up and examines it, noticing the lack of return address and the handwritten shipping address. He sets it down on the chair behind him and rips the tape off the top. Carefully he opens the package and notices it's a collection of pictures of his various pretends. Everything from when he first escaped back in 1996 to now, scattered throughout the box. He notices a white paper under the picture of him in a navy uniform.
He picks it up and reads it to himself. "I know all about you. You can't hide from me." He looks back at the box and sees a picture the pulls the color from his face. The picture is of he and Marie Parker eating at the Starbright Diner in Dover, Delaware. There is a date in the lower left hand corner, 3/12/2003, last week. He throws the picture back in the box, shuts it, and stares out the window of the office area.
"Mr. Fisher. Mr. Fisher, are you alright?" He barely even hears the voice.
He doesn't come back to reality until the secretary grabs his shoulder. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Jarod looks around as the color comes back. "No ghost. It's just, just that my past came back." He looks at the closed box in front of him. "To haunt me."
He's in his car now. He feels somewhat safe, aside from the nagging suspicion that he's being watched. He's hungry but doesn't want to stop. He can't stop. Who or whatever is following, stalking, him may be around the next corner. Tailing him. The worst part is, this person is a ghost. Jarod has no idea where he is, what he is doing, or why this is happening. But the ghost is methodical, Jarod gives him that much.
He dials a familiar number on his cell phone. Maybe Marie knows what's going on.
"What?" Jarod loves hearing that greeting.
"Marie, I thought you said you guys stopped tracking me." He's a little distraught and his voice shows it.
"What? We haven't even looked at the papers you sent us." She laughs. "Is all the silence getting to you?"
"No, but somebody else might." Now he's panicking. If the Centre isn't following him, WHO is?
"Did you piss somebody else off lately?"
"Not to my knowledge." Jarod is no speeding down the road looking around him and in all his mirrors.
"You didn't even know you pissed off Bartlet. Shit, is he out again?"
"No. He's got life this time. He'll be lucky to get parole." That's one off the list.
"Get your ass back here to Blue Cove. We'll set something up to help you out." Now its Parker's turn to panic.
"I'm in Delaware as we speak. I'll be at your place in about 15 minutes." Jarod closes his phone before Parker can say anything else. Why would somebody track him for seven years and just now make a move?
Marie Parker looks at Broots and Sydney with a sour expression. "Jarod has a stalker and he needs our help. Judging by his voice he seemed rather spooked. He's heading to my house now and I'm going to meet him there, you two will be called if anything is needed."
Sydney chuckles to himself as Parker stares at him. "Private time for Parker and Jarod." He winks at Broots as the technician blushes.
Parker gives Sydney an ice-cold glare but smiles. "You don't know the half of it boys." She winks as she walks out of the office.
Jarod pulls into Parker's driveway about three seconds after she does, both leaving their cars at the same time. They share a quick embrace and an equally fast kiss before entering Parker's house. The door is shut behind them as Parker habitually walks into the kitchen for a scotch.
"So fill me in on this Jarod." Ice can be heard striking glass.
"It's pretty simple actually. I just finished a pretend and was given a brown box." He looks at his hands before continuing. "I opened it to discover it is basically a scrap book of the last 7 years of my life. Every pretend, everything I've ever done." He stops, wondering if he should mention the Diner picture.
"There's more Jarod. I can tell by the way you ended. And it's not something you want to say." She returns with two cups of scotch, one for her and the other for Jarod. She knows he's not much of a drinker, hell he's seen her plastered out of her skull, but the man had a bad experience. Somebody is out for him and they won't stop until it's finished.
Jarod looks at the cup that Parker is holding at him and takes it from her. He looks up to her ice blue eyes and smiles. "You know I hardly drink Marie. Yet every time you and I sit down you give me a glass. After a while this has to cost you a pretty penny."
"You forget, I control the Centre now. If an accountant sees a lot of money is being spent on liquor, they tell me. Then I tell them to ice their hemorrhoids." She chuckles at the thought of the last accountant see said that to. "It's really one of life's little pleasures."
Jarod is smiling, but it barely covers the mixed emotions inside of him. Miss Parker sees the torment in his eyes and pulls him close. "Don't worry. We're here for you. Don't be afraid to ask for help."
Jarod pulls away and stands up causing Parker to look confused. Usually she's the one that does that, not Jarod. He must really be messed up.
He turns to look out the bay window of Parker's living room. He inhales and exhales, sighing as he breathes. "That's not all. This guy has been following me with a passion. I could handle this if it was just me, but there was a picture of you in there too."
Parker looks shocked and drops the glass. It's contents spill on the hardwood floor as her eyes are focused on Jarod. He turns back to her and looks hr in the eyes. "Last week when you and I were at the diner. He was almost against the window for that picture."
Parker covers her mouth as she looks at the scotch seeping into her rug. She looks back at Jarod. "Maybe it was a telephoto lens." She hopes and prays.
"No. This was a throw away camera." Jarod can see the panic rise in Parker's eyes. She really doesn't know how to handle this. Some creep invaded her privacy, he was literally right there. Jarod she could stand, that was a game, but this guy had no right.
"Look, maybe if we go somewhere public this guy won't do anything." Jarod leans over Miss Parker and holds her hand.
"I'll call for protection. The sweepers are getting tired of watching the Centre 24/7 and they will probably enjoy some outside company." She sees Jarod wince at the sweeper name. Poor guy. Running from sweepers is all he knows, not letting them protect him.
"That is if it's okay with you." Parker sees Jarod relax at the concern she's expressing.
"No, I have to learn to like those guys at some point. What better time than now?" An evil grin crosses Jarod lips as Parker smiles back, picking up her phone.
In a couple of minutes the arrangements are set. The sweepers will change positions on the hour making as little noise as possible. One is staged on the roof and the others are scattered around the house. The alarm is set and everything is locked shut. Parker and Jarod eventually fall asleep, but not before glancing over everything one last time. Stories of their childhood relax them.
Morning hits and the sweepers report nothing unusual happened last night. Jarod walks into the kitchen from the bathroom with a cryptic look on his face. "You call random notes left inside the house a usual occurrence?"
Parker looks at him and the note he's holding. "What's it say?"
Jarod reads the note aloud as if he's been studying it for hours. "Welcome to my parlor, said the spider to the fly." He then places the note in front of the sweepers. "Are you sure nothing happened last night? None of you fell asleep?"
All of the sweepers shake their heads and exchange glances. Parker looks at all of them and then back at Jarod. "Where did you find this?"
"On the bathroom mirror."
Now Parker is really freaked out. Not only has this guy taken a picture of the dinner she and Jarod had, he's been in her house. He's been in her bathroom no less. "Okay this is getting bizarre. Are you guys positive you didn't see anything happen last night?"
One of the sweepers answers her indirect comment. "Aside from you and Jarod." He stops when noticing the glare from Parker. "No ma'am. Nothing."
"Okay, your services are no longer needed then. I'll see you guys tomorrow at the Centre." Parker looks at her cup of coffee causing the sweepers to leave, winking at Jarod as they pass by him.
"So how do you think it happened?" Jarod sits across from Parker as he asks the burning question.
"I honestly don't know. He bypassed the alarm somehow." Parker looks at Jarod and notices he doesn't look like he slept much. "I thought you passed out last night."
He smiles at the comment. "After you did."
She looks over Jarod's shoulder to see the red light of her answering machine is blinking. Curiosity wins her over as she walks over to it and hits the play button. The message that follows cuts through her like a cold knife.
"Looks like you two had fun last night. Can I play too?"
The cup of coffee falls out of her hands, as Jarod looks disgusted. He quickly runs over to Parker before she collapses on the floor. She looks him dead in the eyes. "He watch, he saw, us!"
Jarod and Parker are wondering the exact same thing. Who the hell is this guy and what does he want? "We have to find this guy before." Jarod holds Parker close to him.
The only thing she can do is finish his sentence between sobs. "He kills us."
~ * TBC * ~
Read and Rate. Usual drill. Response means the story will continue lack of interest and this gets dropped. Up to you all.
Disclaimer: I didn't own the right before, I don't own them now and probably never will. Read The Ouroboros Chronicles before you go further. I will not be held responsible for any confusion. This contains dark subject matter. Read at your own risk.
His latest pretend as a physical education teacher at Regelton Area High School of Perry, Pennsylvania is now finished. The next-door neighbor of Lucy Speeling has been arrested for sexual assault and will be serving a long prison sentence. He smiles at the thought. He doesn't have to be helping people anymore; he could live a normal life. But this is all he's known for the past seven years and as the days go by, he learns more about the life he missed.
He walks into the secretary's office holding a letter in his left hand. "Excuse me Mrs. Gilmer, is principal Fulmer in?"
The older secretary looks up and smiles at the man in front of her desk. "Why yes Mr. Fisher. He just came back for lunch and I'm sure he'd love to see the "students' favorite" teacher. I'll call you in."
He smiles at the flattering comment as the secretary picks up her phone. "Jarod Fisher is here to see you. I'll send him right in."
She looks up at Jarod and he gets the idea. She leads him to the door and it opens with principal Fulmer behind it. "Jarod, what can I do for you?"
Jarod hands him the envelope and clears his throat. "I've been offered a teaching job at Oxford University."
The principal looks at the letter and then back at Jarod. "Wow. You must've impressed some important people." He turns to his door and signs the letter. "Good luck to you. We'll miss ya."
Jarod shakes the older man's hand and goes to leave but is stopped by Mrs. Gilmer. "Mr. Fisher. Before you leave, this got here this morning." She reaches under her desk and pulls out a brown box.
Jarod picks it up and examines it, noticing the lack of return address and the handwritten shipping address. He sets it down on the chair behind him and rips the tape off the top. Carefully he opens the package and notices it's a collection of pictures of his various pretends. Everything from when he first escaped back in 1996 to now, scattered throughout the box. He notices a white paper under the picture of him in a navy uniform.
He picks it up and reads it to himself. "I know all about you. You can't hide from me." He looks back at the box and sees a picture the pulls the color from his face. The picture is of he and Marie Parker eating at the Starbright Diner in Dover, Delaware. There is a date in the lower left hand corner, 3/12/2003, last week. He throws the picture back in the box, shuts it, and stares out the window of the office area.
"Mr. Fisher. Mr. Fisher, are you alright?" He barely even hears the voice.
He doesn't come back to reality until the secretary grabs his shoulder. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Jarod looks around as the color comes back. "No ghost. It's just, just that my past came back." He looks at the closed box in front of him. "To haunt me."
He's in his car now. He feels somewhat safe, aside from the nagging suspicion that he's being watched. He's hungry but doesn't want to stop. He can't stop. Who or whatever is following, stalking, him may be around the next corner. Tailing him. The worst part is, this person is a ghost. Jarod has no idea where he is, what he is doing, or why this is happening. But the ghost is methodical, Jarod gives him that much.
He dials a familiar number on his cell phone. Maybe Marie knows what's going on.
"What?" Jarod loves hearing that greeting.
"Marie, I thought you said you guys stopped tracking me." He's a little distraught and his voice shows it.
"What? We haven't even looked at the papers you sent us." She laughs. "Is all the silence getting to you?"
"No, but somebody else might." Now he's panicking. If the Centre isn't following him, WHO is?
"Did you piss somebody else off lately?"
"Not to my knowledge." Jarod is no speeding down the road looking around him and in all his mirrors.
"You didn't even know you pissed off Bartlet. Shit, is he out again?"
"No. He's got life this time. He'll be lucky to get parole." That's one off the list.
"Get your ass back here to Blue Cove. We'll set something up to help you out." Now its Parker's turn to panic.
"I'm in Delaware as we speak. I'll be at your place in about 15 minutes." Jarod closes his phone before Parker can say anything else. Why would somebody track him for seven years and just now make a move?
Marie Parker looks at Broots and Sydney with a sour expression. "Jarod has a stalker and he needs our help. Judging by his voice he seemed rather spooked. He's heading to my house now and I'm going to meet him there, you two will be called if anything is needed."
Sydney chuckles to himself as Parker stares at him. "Private time for Parker and Jarod." He winks at Broots as the technician blushes.
Parker gives Sydney an ice-cold glare but smiles. "You don't know the half of it boys." She winks as she walks out of the office.
Jarod pulls into Parker's driveway about three seconds after she does, both leaving their cars at the same time. They share a quick embrace and an equally fast kiss before entering Parker's house. The door is shut behind them as Parker habitually walks into the kitchen for a scotch.
"So fill me in on this Jarod." Ice can be heard striking glass.
"It's pretty simple actually. I just finished a pretend and was given a brown box." He looks at his hands before continuing. "I opened it to discover it is basically a scrap book of the last 7 years of my life. Every pretend, everything I've ever done." He stops, wondering if he should mention the Diner picture.
"There's more Jarod. I can tell by the way you ended. And it's not something you want to say." She returns with two cups of scotch, one for her and the other for Jarod. She knows he's not much of a drinker, hell he's seen her plastered out of her skull, but the man had a bad experience. Somebody is out for him and they won't stop until it's finished.
Jarod looks at the cup that Parker is holding at him and takes it from her. He looks up to her ice blue eyes and smiles. "You know I hardly drink Marie. Yet every time you and I sit down you give me a glass. After a while this has to cost you a pretty penny."
"You forget, I control the Centre now. If an accountant sees a lot of money is being spent on liquor, they tell me. Then I tell them to ice their hemorrhoids." She chuckles at the thought of the last accountant see said that to. "It's really one of life's little pleasures."
Jarod is smiling, but it barely covers the mixed emotions inside of him. Miss Parker sees the torment in his eyes and pulls him close. "Don't worry. We're here for you. Don't be afraid to ask for help."
Jarod pulls away and stands up causing Parker to look confused. Usually she's the one that does that, not Jarod. He must really be messed up.
He turns to look out the bay window of Parker's living room. He inhales and exhales, sighing as he breathes. "That's not all. This guy has been following me with a passion. I could handle this if it was just me, but there was a picture of you in there too."
Parker looks shocked and drops the glass. It's contents spill on the hardwood floor as her eyes are focused on Jarod. He turns back to her and looks hr in the eyes. "Last week when you and I were at the diner. He was almost against the window for that picture."
Parker covers her mouth as she looks at the scotch seeping into her rug. She looks back at Jarod. "Maybe it was a telephoto lens." She hopes and prays.
"No. This was a throw away camera." Jarod can see the panic rise in Parker's eyes. She really doesn't know how to handle this. Some creep invaded her privacy, he was literally right there. Jarod she could stand, that was a game, but this guy had no right.
"Look, maybe if we go somewhere public this guy won't do anything." Jarod leans over Miss Parker and holds her hand.
"I'll call for protection. The sweepers are getting tired of watching the Centre 24/7 and they will probably enjoy some outside company." She sees Jarod wince at the sweeper name. Poor guy. Running from sweepers is all he knows, not letting them protect him.
"That is if it's okay with you." Parker sees Jarod relax at the concern she's expressing.
"No, I have to learn to like those guys at some point. What better time than now?" An evil grin crosses Jarod lips as Parker smiles back, picking up her phone.
In a couple of minutes the arrangements are set. The sweepers will change positions on the hour making as little noise as possible. One is staged on the roof and the others are scattered around the house. The alarm is set and everything is locked shut. Parker and Jarod eventually fall asleep, but not before glancing over everything one last time. Stories of their childhood relax them.
Morning hits and the sweepers report nothing unusual happened last night. Jarod walks into the kitchen from the bathroom with a cryptic look on his face. "You call random notes left inside the house a usual occurrence?"
Parker looks at him and the note he's holding. "What's it say?"
Jarod reads the note aloud as if he's been studying it for hours. "Welcome to my parlor, said the spider to the fly." He then places the note in front of the sweepers. "Are you sure nothing happened last night? None of you fell asleep?"
All of the sweepers shake their heads and exchange glances. Parker looks at all of them and then back at Jarod. "Where did you find this?"
"On the bathroom mirror."
Now Parker is really freaked out. Not only has this guy taken a picture of the dinner she and Jarod had, he's been in her house. He's been in her bathroom no less. "Okay this is getting bizarre. Are you guys positive you didn't see anything happen last night?"
One of the sweepers answers her indirect comment. "Aside from you and Jarod." He stops when noticing the glare from Parker. "No ma'am. Nothing."
"Okay, your services are no longer needed then. I'll see you guys tomorrow at the Centre." Parker looks at her cup of coffee causing the sweepers to leave, winking at Jarod as they pass by him.
"So how do you think it happened?" Jarod sits across from Parker as he asks the burning question.
"I honestly don't know. He bypassed the alarm somehow." Parker looks at Jarod and notices he doesn't look like he slept much. "I thought you passed out last night."
He smiles at the comment. "After you did."
She looks over Jarod's shoulder to see the red light of her answering machine is blinking. Curiosity wins her over as she walks over to it and hits the play button. The message that follows cuts through her like a cold knife.
"Looks like you two had fun last night. Can I play too?"
The cup of coffee falls out of her hands, as Jarod looks disgusted. He quickly runs over to Parker before she collapses on the floor. She looks him dead in the eyes. "He watch, he saw, us!"
Jarod and Parker are wondering the exact same thing. Who the hell is this guy and what does he want? "We have to find this guy before." Jarod holds Parker close to him.
The only thing she can do is finish his sentence between sobs. "He kills us."
~ * TBC * ~
Read and Rate. Usual drill. Response means the story will continue lack of interest and this gets dropped. Up to you all.