.
Warning:
This chapter will not be appropriate for a sensitive audience, especially on its ending.
Please read it at your own discretion.
Chapter 21 - And everything goes wrong.
June 1996 - Freckle Bitches of Sommerset District.
"I, I can't get these memories out of my mind,
And some kind of madness it started to evolve
I, I tried so hard to let you go
But some kind of Madness is swallowing me whole.
I have finally seen the light
And I have finally realized
What you mean"
Jack's life - almost normal - resumed, between boredom and monotony.
His job, however, was synonymous with a new freedom, and he soon realized that autonomy was not necessarily a pleasure.
To be polite in all circumstances, to shut up in front of deplorable behaviors... Jack took on himself the time to finish the summer but clearly, he could not bloom in a job where he would not be his own boss, he was convinced of it...
After another uninteresting day, Jack and his colleagues took care of closing the restaurant.
- What a shitty day! exclaimed Asher, throwing the chairs on the tables without the slightest thought.
- At least we didn't get beaten up today, that's better! Sonny ironized.
Jack gave him a knowing wink. In reality, he was impressed by his colleague's resilience. He had to take so much abuse, all the time, from everyone, including his own parents. And yet, he was completely self-confident, with his casualness pushed to the point of provocation in a world where people who broke the mold were hated on principle. Sonny, on the other hand, didn't give a damn, he claimed the right to exist like everyone else, and it didn't matter if a Rollerz or some other oddball claimed the opposite.
- You make the closing tomorrow, girls? Sonny asked.
- Yeah, once again... Jack sighed.
- I guess it's always us, right?
- Yeah, it's boring, and I don't like working all the day, I feel like I'm doing nothing all day. It's boring to work.
A full week at Freckle Bitches was barely as profitable as a few minutes selling the King's drugs... But Jack took it as a challenge, and he stuck with it.
The three boys and their colleagues left the restaurant as it was already dark in the neighborhood, exchanged a last cigarette before returning to their respective homes.
Jack walked quietly back to the streetcar, headphones on, until he felt himself being pulled into a dark alley and slammed against a wall. Caught by surprise, he dropped a trash can lid on the floor before a hand crashed into his mouth.
- Shh! Be fucking quiet!
Jack's eyes widened and he recognized Lin who was on guard.
- I'm taking a risk coming to talk to you, you know that! Jack, what are you doing in the Rollerz district?
He signaled to her that she still had her hand over his mouth and that it was therefore difficult for him to answer.
- You frightened me... He admitted to her.
- You think this is a game?!
- I work at the Freckle Bitches on the corner, calm down. I don't come as a Saint...
- There is a FB in Saints Row !
- Yeah, well... I didn't want the guys to come and bust my balls every day... At least nobody knows me here.
- Things are not going well with Jul right now ?
- No, not at all, why?
- Why ? Maybe because I find you stooge in a shitty fast food joint far from the row!
- I'm doing social experiments...
- You have too much free time?
- Enough to ask you to have a drink with me anyway, he tried.
Lin nodded, sighing.
- This isn't a game, Jack. If I hadn't just happened to step in last time, the Rollerz would've kicked your buddy's ass.
- Really?
- They're a bunch of jerks! They've been talking about it for days. These guys are dangerous!
- But... Why do they want to go after Sonny?
- Because he's a bit mannered. Don't tell me you haven't noticed?
- Well, yes, but it seems a bit of a flimsy motive, doesn't it?
- Morons have never needed a reason to kill, rape or slaughter people for free... That's why we're all wrapped up in the Saints, right? To prevent all this. Be careful Jack, I advise you not to stay in enemy territory as things stand. Relations between the Rollerz and the Saints are extremely tense after the VKs were ousted. It will only take a spark to blow everything up.
A noise startled Lin, who discreetly looked to see if she was being followed, but it was just a man walking his dog.
- You look tense...
- It's not easy to infiltrate an enemy gang. But it's okay, I can handle it. Just be careful, okay?
- Am I dreaming or are you worried about me?
- You're dreaming.
- No, I don't think I am! Noticed Jack, happy.
- Shut up. I've already seen how fragile you are, and in my legendary goodness, I just came to make sure you'd be okay.
- Would you still go on a date with me one day?
- Only if there's alcohol involved, otherwise not even in my dreams.
- I'll make a note of that! Be careful, Lin. I think of you often.
- Oh, please!
- I'm just trying to be nice!
- I'm not asking you to do anything, you badger. Get out now.
Jack readjusted his headphones and simply waved to his friend to greet her.
- I like Russian vodka, remember? She finally said, before running off into the night.
Later, Jack dropped onto his bed, still covered with the Italian silk sheets stolen from King's, and looked forward to slipping underneath. They were so soft and so pleasant that he had even taken a liking to hanging out in bed for a while, something unimaginable for him. He lit a cigarette, and enjoyed his little quiet moment. His feet were hurting from walking around that damn restaurant. Can't wait for NASA and those days in front of a computer, he thought.
The quiet of the night gave way to the sound of the doorbell. It was almost 1 a.m., a very unusual time for visitors. Jack was wary, always afraid that a junkie would come in thinking he was still selling and it was with his Desert Eagle, right in his gray pajama pants that he approached the door.
- Who is it? he asked through the door.
- It's Sky. Open up.
Jack rolled his eyes, and turned the lock to let his friend in.
- Am I disturbing you?
- No, I was watching TV.
- Are you alone?
- Yes, I am.
Skylar entered his friend's apartment.
- I brought you some weed, as promised.
- Ah cool, but there was no rush you know.
- Yeah, I know. But I wanted to come see you.
Ouch, Jack wasn't fooled, he knew very well why and he didn't really want to talk about it again. But at least he noticed that Skylar looked better, dressed, with his hair done, he looked like his old self again, which was a good thing.
- I saw Lin earlier," Jack said, taking the lead.
- Oh yeah? Is she okay?
- Yeah, she seems fine. I think it's hard but, she's resourceful, I'm not too worried about her.
- Yeah, she'll probably be fine. She's always handled it like a pro.
- She's a tough gal.
- Yeah," said Skylar.
The room fell silent and the two friends looked at each other with a goofy smile, knowing VERY WELL what they had to talk about, but out of modesty and shyness, neither of them brought it up.
- I'm not kicking you out, but I was going to hit the sack, I'm working all day tomorrow, Jack finally said, to break the heaviness of the atmosphere.
- Oh yeah, don't worry, I understand. Good night then.
- Good night Skylar.
Jack felt as disturbed as he was relieved. Damn, what had gotten into him that night...?
The next day at Freckle Bitches was a trying one, filled with disgruntled people, grumbling about everything and nothing. Everyone was on edge, fed up with the behavior of all these assholes who thought they could do anything.
- I can't take it anymore! I can't take it anymore! Sonny sighed in frustration. I'm going out to smoke because if I don't, I'm going to kill myself.
- Go ahead, but then it's me, I can't stand all these motherfuckers, said Asher, very nervous.
The pace was hellish and the customers numerous ...
- My burger is cold, said a customer by literally throwing it on the uniform of Jack who dripped sauce.
The teenager stepped back by reflex and opened his mouth wide when he saw the carnage.
- You make me another one, quick.
- Who the hell do you think you are, you piece of shit? said Jack.
- I don't get paid to eat cold!
- And I'm not getting paid to put up with this!
- Hurry up, slave," hissed the man.
This was too much for Jack, who grabbed the man by the collar and pulled him over the checkout counter. He slapped the man twice, which knocked him off his feet, before the manager intervened.
- What the hell is wrong with you! You're fired!
- I don't give a shit, he doesn't disrespect me like that.
- Get out of here!
- Come on! Damn it," grumbled Jack.
End of the social experiment and back to the ghetto... Disappointed, Jack tore off his shirt and threw it on the floor and looked at Asher in his kitchen, just as, if not more, disappointed than he was.
- I need someone at the register. Which one is the least fucking ugly in this fucking kitchen? wondered the manager. SONNY! You take Jack's place!
- He's out smoking," a voice from the back of the kitchen warned him.
- Damn it, I can't believe it.
The line was getting longer and the manager found himself in a bind.
- Jack, you're fired at closing time.
- Are you kidding me ? I'm out of here now. They don't treat me like a bum.
And as the customers continued to grumble, Jack retrieved his belongings from the checkroom and left the restaurant while the manager was overwhelmed!
Troy will probably be disappointed, but Jack will have done his best...
Back to Saints Row, he did like his homies, he squatted in the church to relieve his boredom, where the Saints spent most of their time drinking, complaining about the heat and smoking.
As soon as Nassim arrived, strangely enough, all these people suddenly had a lot of things to do urgently in case Nassim proposed military sports sessions.
Despite the recapture of the row, one could not say that things had really changed in the district of Saints Row...
The boys often met on the waterfront or in the streets where they did exactly the same thing as in church: not much.
This exasperated Troy, who saw his boys as nonchalant and already so jaded about life. And boys who are bored in a crappy neighborhood are boys who are screwing around.
In a neighborhood convenience store, several Saints had innocently gone in to "shop", i.e., pay for part of it, and stash the rest under their clothes.
The manager was not fooled, but in reality, he did not dare to say much for fear of paying much more than the price of certain goods ...
- Hello sir, I've come to buy a bottle of whisky, said Wendy, a young Saint with the face of an angel.
She waddled over and smiled politely while waiting for her bottle. Suspicious, the manager grinned, but as soon as his back was turned, whole packages of chips, beer cans, cigarettes and useless stuff disappeared under the large purple T-shirts of his accomplices.
- That'll be 23 dollars and 12 cents...
As she put her bills on the counter, the Saints took the opportunity to leave in a hurry, shouting and laughing loudly.
- Come back, you little bastards!
But they were already far away, and took refuge in the church.
- Thank God for your offerings," joked Kendrick, taking out his food.
- We're good for the week, here! rejoiced AceBone.
- You bet, in three days, we'll have ruined everything, said Jack, more down to earth. Shit Ken, did you steal condoms?
- Well yeah, it's summer.
- As if you needed them.
- Probably more than you ! It seems to me that when you blow Julius, you don't use condoms.
- I don't need to blow Julius for anything.
- But come on. You're the 'oh yes Julius, put me everywhere' type," Ken said in an exaggeratedly high-pitched voice.
- Tss ...
He probably hadn't really paid attention, but Jack realized how systematically the insults and attacks of his colleagues and enemies were centered on the shame of being gay. It's a strange paradox that they were systematically talking about it at every turn, claiming loudly that it disgusted them.
- It is rather the kind of Skylar ! mocked another Saint.
- What did you say? Said the main one.
- Come on, we all know that. It's written all over your face.
Skylar remained totally unperturbed for a moment, as if he had not understood what his homie had said. It took him several very disturbing seconds before he realized. So he took out his weapon and pointed it at the mocking Saint. Fortunately, AceBone and Dex immediately saw the danger and disarmed him.
- Skylar! Shit man ... Have you gone mad ...? Dexter realized.
- Did you want to kill me ...? the Saint shouted.
- You stop... You stop with that...! Skylar struggled to articulate.
His eyes bulging, his breath short, he looked almost like a madman or a junkie in need of his fix. Skylar, usually so nice and well-liked by everyone, was unrecognizable. The Saints were speechless at the scene and no one moved.
- Sky ... Jack tried to approach him gently, hand in front. Calm down...
- I AM CALM! he shouted, mad with rage.
- It was just a stupid joke, nothing more.
- I'm not laughing. I'm sick of your insinuations! Can't you leave me alone at last?!
- Skylar...
- I'm sick of all of you! You're all assholes!
- Whaaa, fuck man, how are you for just a joke, go get your treatment! Retorted the Saint who had made the "joke".
- Are you in trouble right now...? asked Dex.
- I remind you that Sky and I escaped death a short time ago and that we saw our friends die before our eyes. Be gentle, guys," moderated Jack.
But that wasn't enough for Skylar, who, in his frustration, went off alone into the depths of the church.
- Bravo guys, really ... Sigh Jack.
- So what? We don't make any joke about anything anymore to avoid offending him? Kendrick grumbled.
- He's not well and you know it. He is full of antidepressants and weed. He was finally getting his act together and you guys are talking about him like idiots.
- Oh, I'm sorry! Let him go see a shrink and stop breaking balls! We talk about Johnny all day long and he never says anything!
- Johnny is not Skylar!
- Well, no, Johnny is strangely straight," sneered a Saint.
- I give up, you're really hopelessly stupid," concluded Jack, turning around.
- That's it, give him a big hug from me! Kendrick angrily threw him.
- And suck his dick for Dex, added another one before taking a backhand of the interested party on the skull.
Jack went around the church looking for his friend, whom he found in the old baptistery of the building. Everything was dilapidated and dusty in this place where no one had been for a long time.
- Skylar ... ?
- I can't do it, Jack, it's too hard..." he articulated with difficulty. My life is totally ruined.
Skylar sniffed loudly a few times and Jack had no trouble imagining that he must be full of tears.
- They're just idiots, Sky.
He approached his friend and joined him at the bottom of the baptismal pool. The stone was frozen while it was a blazing sun outside.
- Give yourself some time.
- For what?
- To take care of yourself, to get over it. You should get away from Third Street for a while... You can afford to do that, and then you have your sister to support you.
- I haven't told my sister...
- I'm sure you didn't. Maybe you should tell her...
- So she'll think I'm a freak too?
- No. She can help you. You are her little brother and she loves you unconditionally.
- I don't want her to worry about me...
And yet, the damage was long done and Skylar was a shadow of his former self, looking for answers to facts that didn't have any. Jack noticed that his friend's hands were shaking more than usual and that he was almost obsessively fidgeting with them... The drugs were probably not having only positive effects on him...
Hurried footsteps came towards the boys, still at the bottom of the old baptismal pool and Troy appeared, a little surprised to find them here. They looked awfully like two scared and totally lost kids.
- Are you guys okay...?
- Yes, why? Jack answered.
- I have to talk to you. What did you do last Thursday?
- Me?
- Yes, you. I'm looking at you, right?
Last Thursday was the date when he had been kicked out of the restaurant. He had been reluctant to admit it to Troy, but after thinking about it, he felt he didn't necessarily need to know.
- I've been busted all day, it's okay, we're not going to make a big deal out of it... I'll do something else.
- So something did happen! Damn ... The cops are looking for you boy, they want to talk to you.
- Why? Because I slapped him twice?
- Do you realize how serious this is? You're in serious danger, Jack.
- What did you do? said Skylar.
- I got mixed up with a son of a bitch, I shook him up a bit ...
- He was found dead," Troy said, very seriously.
- Wha... what?!
- He's dead, Jack. And now you're telling me you had something to do with it.
- Dead?! For two slaps?!
- Did you beat the crap out of him? Ask Skylar.
- But never in a million years! He was as big as me and he was pretty strong, I could never have laid him down with just that, it was just to shut his big mouth.
- Pretty big? Troy quipped.
- Well yeah... It's incomprehensible what you're telling me...
- Wait, who are you talking about?
- The asshole customer of Freckle Bitches, why, who are you talking about?
Troy looked suddenly relieved and put a hand to his chest before lighting a cigarette again.
- Sonny Steinbrecher, you know?
- No way he'd do anything... He'd be too afraid to break a nail.
- So you know him?
- Yeah, he was my colleague.
- And you haven't seen him since when ?
- Thursday, when I got fired. Why did you do that? Wait... You're not telling me that...
- He was found dead Thursday night. The autopsy revealed some really nasty stuff... Troy let out.
- Sonny died...?
- He was in trouble, do you know anything about that?
- It's... It's the Rollerz!
- The Rollerz? What's the connection?
- They threatened him! Because he was gay! It was Lin who informed me that he was in danger!
- Do you still have contact with Lin? Do you know that you have been forbidden to do so?
- Is that really the point?!
- No, sorry Playa. You say it's the Rollerz? We had our suspicions... His body was hit by a car and beaten to death. We found him in the back of an alley, covered in blood and piss...
- Jeez... That's awful..." Skylar shuddered.
Jack stared at Troy with an expression of terror on his face. Sonny was a cream puff, only a bunch of bastards could hurt such a nice guy.
- You think the motive was homophobic? It doesn't surprise me any more than that..." said Troy.
- It sure does! They had already attacked him for that reason!
- Why didn't he press charges? asked Skylar.
- Because nobody gives a shit about a gay black guy! Jack exclaimed, outraged.
- Calm down boy..." Troy moderated.
- Because it's not true?
Troy didn't answer. There was nothing to defend since Jack was right. There were no laws protecting gay and lesbian youth and sodomy was still condemned in the state of Michigan. Homosexuality was seen as a stigma, and in fact, gays were not allowed to serve in the military. Even in Sunnyvale school, a certain "good manners" were preached, and sexual mores of course excluded any form of unconventional sexuality. So, in the ghettoized cities, excluded from social progress, and lacking recognition, the boys in the grip of a serious identity crisis have no other standard than their masculinity. This is why, logically, lesbians would be less stigmatized by the ambient virilism. No choice, either you were a man, or you were an enemy of virility.
- I don't know," Troy tried to get out of it. But I sincerely think that discretion is required in these cases.
- Because otherwise, it allows others to freely dispose of our lives? Jack protested.
- Our lives? Are you gay too?
- Never in a million years. Forget it, you don't understand anything!
Jack stood up and ran his hands over his face to try not to break down. But overwhelmed by emotions, he broke down and preferred to run away to isolate himself.
- Jack! Wait! Skylar stood up in turn before being stopped by Troy.
- Leave him, he needs to be alone for a while.
Skylar didn't insist and remained silent for a moment before speaking again.
- How do you know you're gay?
- I don't know, son," Troy laughed. And I'd rather not know, if I can give you one piece of advice, Sky. It's to never tell anyone.
- I didn't say it was about me. It's for a buddy.
- El famoso buddy, huh? I'm not judging you guys, in fact I don't give a shit if you're touching your nuts, tucked away in the rectory, the only advice I can give you if you don't want to end up like this poor guy, is to shut up and keep a low profile. The country is not ready, the street even less.
- What if we say we're not gay but we were forced to be?
- What you're singing to me doesn't mean a thing. Either you are or you're not.
- I'm not.
- Good for you then, Sky. You're better then? I haven't seen you in church for a while.
Skylar shrugged, no longer willing to answer.
- What exactly did they do to the guy you were talking about? he worried.
- I told you, they hit him with the car and then picked and beat him up and humiliated by pissing on him. He died of a concussion.
- But they're going to jail...?
- Jack is right, the police are not going to put much energy into finding the killers of a black gay man ...
- What if he was white?
- They would have put a few guys on the case, but clearly not the best. That's why I'm telling you, Sky. Discretion is a good ally, if not a fair one.
- I'm not...
- You said it already, I get it.
Everything got mixed up in Skylar's head and he panicked and took an anti-anxiety medication as soon as Troy's back was turned. He spent the rest of his day in his room in a state of panic that overwhelmed him. Alone in his bed, after smoking an astronomical amount of weed, Skylar could visualize his corpse, disfigured and covered with piss, in the back of a dark alley. He sweated profusely and at the stroke of one o'clock in the morning, he put on a pair of pants and ran to Jack's house.
He pounded on the door, but no one answered except a neighbor who yelled at him to keep it down.
Everything worried Skylar, who fell into a fit of paranoia. He felt as if everyone around him, every car that passed by, was just here to do him in. Even the flickering streetlight seemed hostile, ready to kill him.
So Jack, on the arm of Amara, a pretty young woman who accompanied him, found Skylar half-drowned in tears on the front porch of his house.
This time Jack looked at him with hostility, he loved his friend very much, but he was tired of having to bear his pain all the time when he had his own problems that he was already having trouble dealing with.
Besides, he wasn't alone, which was reason enough for him not to have to go through this.
- Jack! Skylar exclaimed, jumping into his arms.
Amara was surprised at the closeness between them, but Jack's annoyed look reinforced her idea that their attachment was not equal.
- What are you doing in my house? He said without hiding his annoyance.
- I have to talk to you!
- Couldn't it wait until tomorrow?
- Do you think the Rollerz are going to show up in the row?
- The Rollerz? said Amara, who was part of Lin's team. There are no Rollerz here.
- But imagine if they came!
- It's the Carnales that are the problem now," sighed Jack. They're not coming, but they're lurking around...
- To kill gays, right?!
- Sky... Stop it with that...
- What's the story? asked Amara, intrigued.
- You know, I have a friend who was killed in Sommerset. It's a homophobic crime probably committed by Rollerz.
- Ah, that would be the kind indeed...
- I have no doubt about that.
- What's that got to do with it?
- Go home, Skylar," ordered Jack. Get some rest and we'll talk about this another day.
- We'll get through this... You and me Jack... If it's not the Rollerz, it'll be God," Skylar trembled, in a disturbing mental confusion.
- Go home, now you're pissing me off. Take your fucking pills and go to sleep.
- Divine punishment...
- Whaaa... You're completely delusional Sky! Amara said, getting a little scared.
Skylar staggered off, full on weed and pills, into the dark night, pointing at Jack with a threatening look on his face.
- What was he talking about?
- I don't know, he's getting paranoid with what happened to us with the VKs. But let's not talk about it anymore. Do you want to come to my place?
- Hum, she smiled at him.
But Jack was no longer in the mood to celebrate and despite Amara's pleasant presence at his side, he felt worried. But he wasn't a shrink and didn't owe his buddy anything.
If only he had known...
Barely two hours later, when he had finally managed to get Amara into his silk sheets, after a meal and some good-natured chatter, his phone started to ring. He decided to ignore the call, given the time and the context.
Very busy kissing the beautiful Amara, the second ring annoyed him, but he took the time to look at the name of his interlocutor written on his mobile.
- Damn, it's Skylar again! He doesn't let go of me, it's unbearable!
- Again?
- He's breaking my balls! I like him but I can't get rid of him at the moment! He does not realize that he oppresses me!
The phone continued to ring.
- Maybe you should answer it," Amara suggested gently.
Exasperated, Jack grabbed his phone and turned it off.
- Problem solved.
- Maybe it was important.
- The only thing I care about right now is you," Jack said in his lovey-dovey tirade.
Amara blushed and pulled him against her, but this time the landline phone started ringing off the hook.
- This can't be true! I hate my life!
- Go see what he wants...
- I'm fucking fed up with this! Don't move, I'll be back in a moment.
- Bring me something to drink.
- Ah, plus I have to do room service ! " Jack joked, winking at her.
He went down the stairs and angrily grabbed the phone, which was still ringing.
- Your correspondent is unreachable for the moment," he said grudgingly, lighting a cigarette.
- It's Sky ...
- No kidding? What's wrong now? I was sleeping," he lied.
- You have to come over.
- Where to?
- To my place.
- What for?
- You have to come!
- If you don't tell me why, I won't move my ass from my house.
- Come on, I beg you !
Skylar's pleas intrigued his friend, but on the other hand, they made him feel guilty. He didn't live very far, maybe it was worth checking what he wanted, so that he would finally leave him in peace. Willy-nilly, he went back to his room to put back the T-shirt that Amara had taken off him only a few minutes earlier.
- I have to go out, I don't have long.
- Excuse me? said the young woman, offended.
- It's Skylar... I don't know what's wrong with him, I'm going to go to his house quickly.
- Ok, I see...! She mumbled, with a haughty air.
- You're not going to do it either! I can't help it if you all break my balls with your stories!
- I'm breaking your balls?
- Right now, yes!
- You know what, Playa? Fuck you, go do your life with your buddy Skylar.
- He needs help! I'm not going to piss him off though, am I?
- No, you're right, go like a good little doggie. Suge is right, there's something going on between you two.
- Well, you know what? Go get fucked by Suge, you idiot.
Amara was outraged and Jack cut the conversation short. So much for the night ...
Jack crossed Mission Beach with some mistrust, the night being much more hostile than in the daytime which was already not terrible. He was accosted by a good number of prostitutes to whom he carefully avoided making small talk.
He arrived quickly at the Meijen's and went directly to their apartment where he knocked discreetly. Anouk and the wreck that served as their mother were probably asleep. Jack stifled a yawn with the back of his hand until he heard the lock turn.
- I hope you didn't bother me for nothing," he said by way of greeting.
- I need you for something, Jack.
- It's half past four in the morning!
- I know, I know... Said Skylar calmly.
Siska, Anouk's pitbull dog, looked at Jack with her puppy dog look, she who usually jumped around as soon as someone came in. She looked strangely nervous and downcast.
- Your sis' isn't here?
Skylar didn't answer and dragged a huge duffel bag behind him.
- Are you leaving?
- Can you help me carry it to my car?
Jack grabbed one of the straps and lifted the bag before using both hands to carry it.
- Damn it, this weighs a ton! What did you put in there?
- We have to put it in the car... He repeated.
The two boys combined forces and drove to the parking lot of the residence where they loaded the bag into the trunk.
- You have to come with me.
- Where ? Jack asked.
- Come with me.
Skylar looked as low as a man and at the same time, very distant, as if he were on substances. He was very quiet, maybe a little too quiet and Jack was suspicious.
- I drove then...
The car left the scene, and Jack headed northeast, to the second island that made up the town of Stilwater. He had no idea where he was headed. All he knew for sure was that he was leaving the downtown area and heading towards the mountainous part of town, where the forests were. He made no mistake, as Skylar told him to go into a very dark area, out of sight. Jack trusted his friend, but he was still very tense ...
- What are we doing here, Skylar?
- It's okay, you can stop the car, it will be fine here.
Skylar got out of the car with some excitement and looked around.
- It's nice here, isn't it? he asked, his eyes almost bulging.
- Yes? Jack nodded without really understanding.
- She loves animals and the forest, so it will be nice!
- Who's that...?
But Skylar didn't answer, and hurried to the trunk of the car where he took out, to Jack's great surprise, two large iron shovels.
- We have to make a hole! Skylar decreed.
- A hole?
- And then we'll be fine. Yeah, we'll be fine! We'll go back to my place, we'll smoke something and you'll see, it'll be fine.
Except that nothing seemed to be fine and Skylar laughed nervously before hitting the ground with his shovel, only illuminated by the car's headlights.
- Skylar ... What's in the bag...? Jack asked cautiously.
- Come help me make this hole.
- What's in the bag...? Jack worried more.
This time, Skylar stopped dead in his tracks and put on a very serious, even threatening expression.
- We have to make this hole.
The dust kicked up and that was all that could be seen in the car's headlights. That, and a guy who looked like a total weirdo who oscillated between a very serious expression and a crazy laugh. With his shovel in his hand, Jack didn't have to think long before he made the connection between that hole and the bag.
- Skylar! What's in the bag!?
- COME HELP ME," shouted Skylar this time.
- Nope..." shook Jack. What did you do ...?
This time Skylar dropped the shovel to the ground and looked down at the shape of the hole he was planning to dig. He began to hyperventilate before turning to his friend, who was dying to know.
- I didn't want to..." Skylar finally said.
Sobbing followed, but Jack remained stunned by the trunk.
- What did you do...?
- It wasn't that I wanted to... But I spun around and by the time I realized it, it was too late," Skylar admitted between sobs.
- What did you do? Jack insisted, deeply shocked without even knowing.
- It was an accident! Just an accident.
Jack hyperventilated in turn and slowly turned to the bag in the trunk, never taking his eyes off Skylar, whose legs buckled to the point that he found himself on the ground, face down in his hands.
Without a sound, Jack slowly opened the zipper of the bag, which contained an object in several black garbage bags. The Saint put his hand forward and immediately withdrew it when he realized that he had just become soaked in blood.
- Oh my God...
- I didn't want to! Skylar repeated.
- Who is this? And where did it happen?
- An accident...
- Okay. Okay, it's... It can happen, right? Jul... Julius told us we were at war, these things happen, right? Jack said, mostly trying to convince himself.
- I didn't want to...
- But why did you set this up in your apartment? Jack realized. What did your sister say?
Skylar started crying again.
- Where is your sister, Skylar?
- I...
- Sky..." Jack worried as he felt tears welling up in his eyes as well.
- I didn't want to...
- No... What did you do to your sister...? Jesus, Skylar. You didn't do this? Tell me you didn't do that?
- She did...
Too moved, Skylar didn't have the strength to articulate properly and Jack couldn't wait to find out. With trembling hands and a pounding heart, he grabbed the trash bag with both hands and managed to tear it open. He didn't need to see more, when a blonde hair appeared before his eyes.
Jack stepped back and instinctively put his hand in front of his mouth. It took him a few seconds to realize it before he too began to sob.
- I have to bury her.
- Why ... Why did you do that ...?
- I don't know, she... She asked me questions, and then... We got mad and then I don't know, when I came to, she was lying on the floor, in blood and...
- We have to tell the cops...
- I'm going to jail, Jack.
- You need help ... We have to tell ... You won't be alone, but you have to accept help ...
- Jack," sobbed Skylar. You were the only one who understood me. Everyone else judged me, but not you. People can't understand what you and I have been through... They can't...
Jack walked over to Skylar, his hands still full of blood, and took him in his arms. The two teenagers hugged and sobbed for a long time, in this lost forest...