Author's notes: this is a freaky chapter. I want to thank my wonderful beta
for all her help with these fics so far and to my readers. Reviews would be
very nice. but I can't make you. I'm simply going to hold the other
chapters ransom until you do! that said, enjoy!
Chapter 7: Hello (Jack's POV)
Playground school bell rings again
'There she is, thank god. I wonder where all the other children have gone. Probably playing a trick on us or something. But what's she doing lying down? Oh dear, maybe she fainted! She hasn't eaten hardly anything in days!'
It started to rain at that moment. He rushed over to his little sister, and picked her up easily. There was a reason that the other children had stayed away from her. They had known she was dead.
Rain clouds come to play again
'Stupid rain. This won't help matters. Damn it, I'm so stupid! I should've brought her some food yesterday. Oh god, I hope she'll be alright. Oh great, what does Norry the ninny want now?'
James had watched the scene with much turmoil. He didn't know that it was his own father that killed her, just that she was dead. Jack hadn't even seen the hole in the side of her head, as it was covered by her beautiful thick cascades of golden tresses. He walked over to Jack and tried to speak and though no words came out, Jack got the message.
Has no one told you she's not breathing?
"Has no one told you she's not breathing?" Norrington asked.
"What? What.no. No, no it can't be of course she is. She.she can't be dead." Yelled Jack
Hello
'But I am, Jack.'
"Sere.?!? But.but your mouth didn't move." cried a frighten Jack.
I'm your mind giving you someone to talk to
'I know it didn't, Jack. I'm sorry, Jackie but I'm afraid I'm dead. I'm just your mind giving you someone to talk to.'
"I'm sorry for your loss." James muttered.
James didn't have time to say anything else to Jack because Jack collapsed at that moment. He fell to the ground, the lifeless and cold body of his dead sister still in his limp arms. Somehow he had fallen so she would land on top of him, and not do any damage to her corpse. James had no idea of the travesty that had taken place at his hand. Until his much later years, neither did Jack. Jack knew that James had a crush on his sister. The schoolmaster brought Jack in and left her body where it was for the General, as instructed.
Hello
'Hello.Jack.wake up, Jack.' Serenity insisted.
"Sere, what happened to you?!" whimpered Jack.
'I died, Jack.' She explained.
"Then how can I hear you?" Jack wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.
'Because I want you to, and don't enquire further to the subject. From now on you'll be able to hear everyone's thoughts. Anyone's you wish, Jack.'
If I smile and don't believe
"Anyone I want, huh?" Jack thought outside his mind a smile curling on his lips.
'Yes, Jackie, anyone. You don't believe me, do you?' the echo of her voice filled with hurt.
"No, I don't believe you." Jack answered.
Soon I know I'll wake from this dream
'Why not, Jackie? Have I ever lied to you?'
"Serenity never lied to me. I don't know if this is just my mind making you up, or some kind of word spell making me believe its who you were but I know you aren't her. This is just a dream." Thought Jack .
'Jackie, you're asleep but your not dreaming.'
"Why are you here? Why did you do this to me if it's really you?"
'I just wanted to fix you, Jack.'
Don't try to fix me I'm not broken
"What do you mean fix me?"
'Your soul, Jack. I just wanted to make everything better. You're hurt, you're sick, and you're heart's a mess. I just wanted to fix that before I left.'
"Don't try to fix me! I'm not broken, Sere! I'm not. What about you? How can I fix you?"
'You can't. It's too late for me.'
"What are you?! You're not my sister because she's dead!"
Hello, I'm the lie living for you so you can hide
'No, Jack, you're right. I'm not your sister. Not anymore. I'm just the spirit of myself.'
"Spirits aren't real! How many times do I have to tell you? They're just a bunch of lies!"
'Well then, let me introduce myself. Hello, I'm the lie living for you so you can hide.'
"Hide from what?"
'From the truth of what your life is, and what it will be from now on.
Don't cry.
Jack woke up, the harshness of the words still echoing through his mind, the pains he felt from the bruises of prize fighting, the emotional pain from the fact that his everything was dead, and the hopelessness of his situation were all spinning in his head and soon it became too much for him to bear. He curled up into a ball at the top of the bed, closed his knees to his chest, then started to sob. He ran his fingers through his long, flowing black hair and settled them atop his skull, massaging his head trying to forget everything and collect himself. But it didn't help when he heard his sister's voice again, this time much more soothing and sympathetic.
"Please." He begged within his mind to her, the weariness of his physical tone somehow morphing into his brain. "Please just go away. I have to let you go. You're dead, you can't be here. You'll drive me mad. Please don't talk to me anymore."
'Don't cry..'
He heard no more from her after that. It took Jack many years to come to terms with his gift, and he ignored it to the point of pigheadedness. When he was 22 years old and had just been dumped by his girlfriend, AnaMaria, he found an old abandoned ship floating aimlessly in the cove. The current kept it swirling in one continuous ring around the place, yet avoiding any rocks.
Jack had been a pirate ever since that day, hunting for the people that had killed his sister. He was a wanted man, he had killed amny people, and now Ana was gone. Why the hell not take one more thing? That was his motto, after all. Take what you can, give nothing back.
He swam out to the ship, only to find that a rope had been tied to the ship and was just waiting to be climbed. When he arrived on the deck the boards happily squeaked under his boots, as if in greeting. However Jack was in no mood to return the greeting so kindly. He flopped to the deck and started to cry. It was another turning point in his life.
The last had been when his dear sister died and now he was on the bottom again. He hadn't cried since the death of Serenity and if there was anything he wanted now it was to hear her voice again. He had tried calling out to her, in his mind, in times of desperate need but to no avail. She was gone. But it was worth one more try.
"Serenity, Serenity please answer me! I'm sorry I pushed you away all those years ago. I'm sorry that I've been ignoring my gift that you gave me. I'm sorry, but I take it all back if you'll just speak to me."
Hello, I'm still here
'Then speak to you I will, Jack.'
"Serenity?"
Jack's head shot up. Her voice was loud, and clearer then he had ever heard it in his thoughts. He stood up in shock, because when he heard her voice there seemed to be a small shudder that ran through this strange ship. He heard her chuckle in his mind, and with that another shudder from the decks.
"Serenity?"
'Hello, Jack. I'm still here.'
"The decks of my new ship keep shuddering."
'I'm not your new ship. I'm my own ship and you just happen to have crossed my path.'
"Your.your in the ship?"
'Yes, yes I am. The ship is cursed. My spirit is entombed in the very woodwork.'
"Spirit?"
All that's left of yesterday
'Well, maybe not. A soul? I wish I still had a soul. I suppose that you could just call me.all that's left of yesterday. I know you tried to push the past away, Jackie. I'm talking to you, now do you take it all back? Will you use your gift like I wanted you to?'
"Yes, yes, Sere I will."
'Then start from where we left off, Jack.'
Chapter 7: Hello (Jack's POV)
Playground school bell rings again
'There she is, thank god. I wonder where all the other children have gone. Probably playing a trick on us or something. But what's she doing lying down? Oh dear, maybe she fainted! She hasn't eaten hardly anything in days!'
It started to rain at that moment. He rushed over to his little sister, and picked her up easily. There was a reason that the other children had stayed away from her. They had known she was dead.
Rain clouds come to play again
'Stupid rain. This won't help matters. Damn it, I'm so stupid! I should've brought her some food yesterday. Oh god, I hope she'll be alright. Oh great, what does Norry the ninny want now?'
James had watched the scene with much turmoil. He didn't know that it was his own father that killed her, just that she was dead. Jack hadn't even seen the hole in the side of her head, as it was covered by her beautiful thick cascades of golden tresses. He walked over to Jack and tried to speak and though no words came out, Jack got the message.
Has no one told you she's not breathing?
"Has no one told you she's not breathing?" Norrington asked.
"What? What.no. No, no it can't be of course she is. She.she can't be dead." Yelled Jack
Hello
'But I am, Jack.'
"Sere.?!? But.but your mouth didn't move." cried a frighten Jack.
I'm your mind giving you someone to talk to
'I know it didn't, Jack. I'm sorry, Jackie but I'm afraid I'm dead. I'm just your mind giving you someone to talk to.'
"I'm sorry for your loss." James muttered.
James didn't have time to say anything else to Jack because Jack collapsed at that moment. He fell to the ground, the lifeless and cold body of his dead sister still in his limp arms. Somehow he had fallen so she would land on top of him, and not do any damage to her corpse. James had no idea of the travesty that had taken place at his hand. Until his much later years, neither did Jack. Jack knew that James had a crush on his sister. The schoolmaster brought Jack in and left her body where it was for the General, as instructed.
Hello
'Hello.Jack.wake up, Jack.' Serenity insisted.
"Sere, what happened to you?!" whimpered Jack.
'I died, Jack.' She explained.
"Then how can I hear you?" Jack wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.
'Because I want you to, and don't enquire further to the subject. From now on you'll be able to hear everyone's thoughts. Anyone's you wish, Jack.'
If I smile and don't believe
"Anyone I want, huh?" Jack thought outside his mind a smile curling on his lips.
'Yes, Jackie, anyone. You don't believe me, do you?' the echo of her voice filled with hurt.
"No, I don't believe you." Jack answered.
Soon I know I'll wake from this dream
'Why not, Jackie? Have I ever lied to you?'
"Serenity never lied to me. I don't know if this is just my mind making you up, or some kind of word spell making me believe its who you were but I know you aren't her. This is just a dream." Thought Jack .
'Jackie, you're asleep but your not dreaming.'
"Why are you here? Why did you do this to me if it's really you?"
'I just wanted to fix you, Jack.'
Don't try to fix me I'm not broken
"What do you mean fix me?"
'Your soul, Jack. I just wanted to make everything better. You're hurt, you're sick, and you're heart's a mess. I just wanted to fix that before I left.'
"Don't try to fix me! I'm not broken, Sere! I'm not. What about you? How can I fix you?"
'You can't. It's too late for me.'
"What are you?! You're not my sister because she's dead!"
Hello, I'm the lie living for you so you can hide
'No, Jack, you're right. I'm not your sister. Not anymore. I'm just the spirit of myself.'
"Spirits aren't real! How many times do I have to tell you? They're just a bunch of lies!"
'Well then, let me introduce myself. Hello, I'm the lie living for you so you can hide.'
"Hide from what?"
'From the truth of what your life is, and what it will be from now on.
Don't cry.
Jack woke up, the harshness of the words still echoing through his mind, the pains he felt from the bruises of prize fighting, the emotional pain from the fact that his everything was dead, and the hopelessness of his situation were all spinning in his head and soon it became too much for him to bear. He curled up into a ball at the top of the bed, closed his knees to his chest, then started to sob. He ran his fingers through his long, flowing black hair and settled them atop his skull, massaging his head trying to forget everything and collect himself. But it didn't help when he heard his sister's voice again, this time much more soothing and sympathetic.
"Please." He begged within his mind to her, the weariness of his physical tone somehow morphing into his brain. "Please just go away. I have to let you go. You're dead, you can't be here. You'll drive me mad. Please don't talk to me anymore."
'Don't cry..'
He heard no more from her after that. It took Jack many years to come to terms with his gift, and he ignored it to the point of pigheadedness. When he was 22 years old and had just been dumped by his girlfriend, AnaMaria, he found an old abandoned ship floating aimlessly in the cove. The current kept it swirling in one continuous ring around the place, yet avoiding any rocks.
Jack had been a pirate ever since that day, hunting for the people that had killed his sister. He was a wanted man, he had killed amny people, and now Ana was gone. Why the hell not take one more thing? That was his motto, after all. Take what you can, give nothing back.
He swam out to the ship, only to find that a rope had been tied to the ship and was just waiting to be climbed. When he arrived on the deck the boards happily squeaked under his boots, as if in greeting. However Jack was in no mood to return the greeting so kindly. He flopped to the deck and started to cry. It was another turning point in his life.
The last had been when his dear sister died and now he was on the bottom again. He hadn't cried since the death of Serenity and if there was anything he wanted now it was to hear her voice again. He had tried calling out to her, in his mind, in times of desperate need but to no avail. She was gone. But it was worth one more try.
"Serenity, Serenity please answer me! I'm sorry I pushed you away all those years ago. I'm sorry that I've been ignoring my gift that you gave me. I'm sorry, but I take it all back if you'll just speak to me."
Hello, I'm still here
'Then speak to you I will, Jack.'
"Serenity?"
Jack's head shot up. Her voice was loud, and clearer then he had ever heard it in his thoughts. He stood up in shock, because when he heard her voice there seemed to be a small shudder that ran through this strange ship. He heard her chuckle in his mind, and with that another shudder from the decks.
"Serenity?"
'Hello, Jack. I'm still here.'
"The decks of my new ship keep shuddering."
'I'm not your new ship. I'm my own ship and you just happen to have crossed my path.'
"Your.your in the ship?"
'Yes, yes I am. The ship is cursed. My spirit is entombed in the very woodwork.'
"Spirit?"
All that's left of yesterday
'Well, maybe not. A soul? I wish I still had a soul. I suppose that you could just call me.all that's left of yesterday. I know you tried to push the past away, Jackie. I'm talking to you, now do you take it all back? Will you use your gift like I wanted you to?'
"Yes, yes, Sere I will."
'Then start from where we left off, Jack.'