Chapter Six

Lisa found herself running down the hallway again. She felt panicky and uneasy in the narrow hall, like it was closing in on her. Finally, she reached the end door. Her mind screamed for her to leave it alone, but her body didn't feel the same way. She felt her hand close around the doorknob and open it.

Nervously, she stepped inside, hoping she wouldn't run into Jackson again. Again, the room was pitch black except for the light in the distance. Taking a deep breath, she started walking.

For what seemed like hours, all she did was walk. Starting to feel uncertainty build up inside her, she turned to look behind her. She saw that she could still see the light from the hallway she had entered. Then she turned around.

She was standing in an airport. Confused, she looked behind her. It was still black, and she could see the light from the door. She turned around again and headed through the airport, looking around at the many shops. Finally, she reached the bar.

For a moment she felt like the wind was knocked out of her. She saw herself, sitting with Jackson, laughing.

"Jack Rippner...that was nice of your parents," she heard the Lisa in front of her say jokingly.

"Yeah, I told them that too, just before I killed them," Jackson said, and they both laughed. Lisa realized that she was looking at her past self. Disgusted, she turned around, planning to head back…

Instead she found herself standing in the airplane. Flight 1019. She saw herself and Jackson yet again, but this time neither of them were laughing. She saw herself crying, while Jackson was explaining to the flight attendant.

"It's been a hard week," he said, sounding and looking innocent but a familiar and cruel malice in his eyes. "A death in the family," he added, just in case he hadn't been convincing. Lisa stared at him. His face was foggy, yet his eyes were still clear in her mind, as if she had just seen them…

She turned around. This time she was in her house. She saw herself again, this time holding a hockey stick, looking around with a frightened look in her eye. Lisa watched herself in horror as she shut the door and there was Jackson…

She turned around again, not wanting to see any more. It took her a moment to realize she had shut her eyes. When she opened them, she saw Jackson, but this time was different. This time he was staring back.

"Hello, Leese," he said, his voice mocking.

Lisa stared at him, terrified. "Why am I seeing this?" she asked. "Why are you making me go through this again?"

Jackson shook his head. "It's not me making you see this," he said, scornful, "It's you. It's always been you."

"But why?" Lisa asked, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Your mind is trying to tell you something," he said. "You need to look at the clues, Leese. You're trying to tell yourself something. Maybe it's time you listened." He smiled at her and walked away.

"Wait!" Lisa yelled, but he kept on walking. She ran after him, but her image was fading into oblivion. All she could do was fall into darkness, a strange sound ringing in her ears…

---

Lisa awoke to the sound of her doorbell ringing. She looked at her clock. Seven o'clock. Oh, shit, she thought, remembering her date with Ben. She got up quickly and ran to the door. She opened it. Ben stood in the doorway, looking confused.

"I did tell you it was tonight, didn't I?" he said

"Oh…I…I…" Lisa was mortified. Goddamn time change, she thought angrily. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I took a nap, I must have lost track of time."

"That's fine." Ben walked in and sat down on the bed. "I'll just wait for you to change," he added.

"Of…of course," Lisa said, grabbing her bag and rushing into the bathroom. Why do you have such bad luck when it comes to guys? she thought angrily. The last guy I was interested in tried to kill me. She put on her black skirt and white blouse. Lucky my hair still looks acceptable, she thought. She walked out, smiling.

"Where to?" she asked.

Ben smiled at her. "The Belvedere," he said, grinning.

Lisa looked at him suspiciously. "It sounds expensive," she said.

"It is," Ben said lightly. "C'mon, I have reservations, and I don't want to be late."

---

"And what will you have, miss?" the waitress asked Lisa kindly.

"Um…" Lisa stared at her menu, thinking hard. "Smoked salmon, please," she said, smiling.

"Alrighty, your food should be ready soon," the waitress smiled and left.

Lisa smiled at Ben. "So why this place?" she asked.

"It was nice," Ben said, grinning, "And I figured that I had better give my country a good name, if you know what I mean."

"So you were born and raised here?" Lisa asked.

"Actually, I was born in the states. My mum moved us over here when I was little."

"Oh," Lisa said. "So your parents are divorced?" she asked, almost regretting the question. She didn't want to seem like she was prying.

"Yep," Ben said. "My dad and brother still live over there."

Lisa stared at him, surprised. "You have a brother?" she asked.

"A twin," he replied, "but we don't look alike. He looks like our mum, but I look like our dad." Ben frowned. "At least, I think I do. I only have a picture of him from when he was in college."

"Wow," Lisa said, "A twin. Well," she said jokingly, "I guess I could understand why your mom only took you. She must have a hassle with only one of you."

Ben looked down. "My mum's dead," he said quietly.

"Oh." Lisa looked down as well, feeling ashamed.

Ben looked at her, smiling again. "Well, don't feel guilty," he said, "You had no idea. Most people don't know." His blue eyes filled with sadness. "I think I just talk about her like she's still alive. It wasn't that long ago, you know."

Lisa nodded, at a loss for words. Poor guy, she thought. "Do you keep in touch with your brother?" she asked.

"Nah," Ben said, looking solemn. "Dad couldn't pay for him, so he got moved to a foster home. Nobody from our family has seen him since." He sighed. "I guess it didn't matter, Dad didn't much like him anyway."

"Oh," Lisa said.

Ben looked up at her. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?" he asked.

"No," Lisa said, "I'm an only child. A spoiled one, too," she said, a mischievous gleam in her eye.

"Oh, really," Ben said, giving her a similar look. "Just how spoiled?"

"Well," she said, stirring her drink, "When I was little, I clogged up my dad's toilet with towels because he wouldn't buy me a Barbie doll that I wanted."

Ben pretended to look shocked. "You didn't," he said.

"I did," Lisa returned.

Ben shook his head, laughing. "You're a fun person, Lisa. I think I may get to liking you."

"Really?"

"Yep."

Well, that was, again, a fun chapter to write. Lisa's dreams are very important, I'll tell you that right now. And don't think Jackson's gone for good, he'll be back, and he's up to no good. Early apologies if the sequences from the movie are wrong, I haven't seen the movie for a while. Anyhow, hope you enjoyed it, and I'll update soon. Buh-bye!