Chapter 6
Everyone in the circle couldn't help but gasp as Moze and Ned continued their gripping narrative. Both of them couldn't help but grin at the reaction – they grinned, and then they eventually began to laugh. Cookie smiled at them.
"What's so funny?!" they all demanded.
"Nothing.", said Ned, wiping a tear from his eye (using his good arm). Moze stifled another laugh with her hand.
Missy stared at the both of them. "What is wrong with you two?" she asked, incredulous.
"Nothing's wrong." Moze said innocently. She glanced at Ned, who was laughing and wincing at the same time – the laughs were starting to make his ribs hurt even more.
"First you two are all mad at each other, then you two are all moping around, then suddenly you're best friends again?! What is with that? Mosely is just about to describe her death, and you're both laughing it up!"
Ned and Moze glanced at each other, and then shrugged. Moze quipped, "Missy, you are really dense. If I'm about to describe my 'death' then I ask you: why am I here, if I'm about to die?"
Missy opened her mouth to retort, and then closed it. Suzie said, "You guys are crazy. Ned, Moze just hit you not too long ago, and you're laughing it up!"
Ned shrugged again. "That's life and love for you Suzie. You take whatever it throws at you and roll with it. Sometimes you gotta roll with the punches. Besides, it was an accident."
Suzie was beside herself. "Ned, she abused you, humiliated you, and emotionally destroyed you. How can you just accept all that? How can you FORGIVE HER?"
Ned stared at Suzie. The answer was so easy he was surprised someone as smart as Suzie couldn't get it. Even Cookie understood. "Suzie, I forgave her because she's my best friend and the love of my life." Moze blushed again, and a single tear (of joy) ran down her cheek. She placed a nice little kiss on Ned's cheek, and he flushed with joy.
Cookie reached back behind his chair, and took something out. It was Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. It was tattered, bursting with tips, and slightly burned. Ned gaped at Cookie. "Cookie how did you -? I thought it was burned in the fire."
"Nope. I searched day and night at the wreckage, but I eventually found it. Hiding it in your underwear drawer was a pretty smart decision, Ned." He flipped around in the guide looking for something. He flipped to the last page and found what he wanted.
"Tip #1,234,567: Forgiveness is the highest trait a friend can aspire to." He closed the guide and looked at Suzie pointedly. She got the point and sat back.
Cookie turned to look at Moze and Ned. "Now where were we?" Moze nodded and she and Ned took up their narrative for one last time.
Moze
The knife was coming down fast, its cold hard steel racing toward my heart like a hungry dog running toward a nice juicy T-bone steak. I braced myself – I knew that I had this coming for a long time. Ned Bigby was going to kill me. A hot tear raced down my cheek, and I felt a deep sadness at what I had done.
The knife finally came down. Right next to me. Emphasis on next. Not in me. Next to me. I opened an eye to see a grinning Ned looking down at me.
He had missed. On purpose. Boy, oh, boy did I want to smack him right then and there – I wanted to knock those pearly white teeth right out of his head.
"You're trembling." Ned pointed out. The necklace still hung around his neck, dangling between us.
"Of course, I'm trembling, you moron! Jesus, Ned! I thought you were going to kill me!" I sat up so fast I accidentally hit his head with mine. Ouch. The headache only made me more furious.
"What the HELL is wrong with you?!" I shouted at him.
"Hey, Moze, you're back." He said this with an almost casual air, as though I had just gone for a walk and returned. This statement made me pause for a minute. He was right in a weird way. I felt more like myself-I felt a little better, actually. It was like during this whole horrible ordeal I was on vacation from myself – watching myself on a big TV screen far away. Everything seemed surreal. But now, I was back. The vacation was over – Moze was back in her own body. I felt happy; overjoyed. I felt free. A dark weight had lifted itself from me.
The happiness didn't last long. The memories of the last few weeks caught up with me, and I was horrified. What had I DONE?
"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my GOD!" I screamed. I looked up at Ned with clear eyes. What I saw was horrible.
Those small cuts and scratches I had given him? They were HUGE. Enormous. It was like someone had taken a whole piece of meat and just butchered it. Ned was bleeding badly.
"Ned, Ned, what I have done to you?" I reached a trembling hand to him. He collapsed at my touch.
"Ah, don't worry about me, Moze. 'Tis but a flesh wound, I assure you." He smiled at me, but the smile was forced. He was pale. He was still wearing the necklace. It glinted dully in the light.
He ripped it off, and threw it away. It clunked onto the floor several inches away. It just lay there, innocent looking.
"Did you really feel anything, Ned?" I asked. I couldn't help myself; I was curious.
He looked at me and simply said, "No."
"So all that yelling earlier was just an act."
"No. That was real. All of it."
I sat there, and absorbed all of this. It was confusing – why would he take such a serious risk?
"Why, Ned?" I whispered.
"Why, what?"
"Why did you put it on? It could have killed you; it could have caused you to turn bad; it could have killed me! Why would you do something so stupid?!"
Ned cocked his head at me. His blue eyes searched mine, and I felt that feeling of vulnerability again. But this time, I didn't shy away. I stared right back.
"All for you, Moze. All for you."
Neither of us noticed the necklace. It was starting to burn.
Ned
Moze teared up after I said those heartfelt words. I felt extremely happy – I finally had Moze back. My happiness either stemmed from that, or the blood loss. Either way I didn't care.
Moze hugged me close (it hurt a lot, but I wasn't about to complain) and just sobbed right into my shoulder. I couldn't stop a few tears of my own from slipping down my cheek and into her hair. The moment was perfect.
"We have a lot to talk about" Moze said afterwards.
"Let's not talk about the relationship. Just enjoy the moment." And so we did.
"Ned, we need to get you to a hospital." Moze whispered.
"I'm fine." I was a little light-headed, but otherwise feeling fine. But then again that could be from the blood loss.
"No! I won't just let you sit here, Ned Bigby, and bleed to death." We need to get you moving."
I groaned and succumbed to her will. She was determined to get me help – I guess I could let her, but how the hell was she going to explain this to my parents and the doctors? I tripped and landed on some broken glass?
Well, it wouldn't be the first time.
Something caught my attention. It was the necklace. It was glowing – very, very brightly. "Moze."
"Yeah?"
"GET DOWN!"
Boom. The world went ablaze.
Where was I? I looked around – and immediately regretted it. My neck hurt badly. I ached everywhere, and my cuts (which had started to heal) were bleeding more ferociously than ever.
Bracing myself against the pain, I turned my head around to look where I was.
I was outside – on my front lawn. How the hell did I get here?
"Ned, Ned!" There was screaming and suddenly a figure materialized in front of me. Cookie.
"Cookie?"
"Thank God, you're alive! You're parents have been freaking out-"
"Cookie, why am I outside my house? I was just inside my room, a minute ago."
"What? Ned it's been several minutes. Your house is on fire!"
"Why are you in your pajamas?"
"That's not important, right now. Ned, your house is on fire!"
"Nice long johns, Cookie." I snickered, still disoriented. Cookie figured that out rather quickly and slapped me. I was shaken out of my stupor.
Cookie repeated what he said earlier. "NED. YOUR. HOUSE. IS. ON. FIRE!"
OH MY GOD. With that, everything came rushing back. Moze-the necklace-the flash of light.
Moze. Ignoring the pain, I grabbed Cookie and pulled him close. "Cookie, where's Moze."
He seemed confused. "WHERE IS MOZE, COOKIE?"
"Didn't she make it out with you?"
No, please God – not that. Please, God, no. Anything but her.
Not Moze.
Moze
The fire raged around me. I barely noticed. I was losing consciousness, and I could see the blackness closing in on me. My life flashed before my eyes – everything I had taken for granted all there passing me by.
Ned. Cookie. My friends. James K. Polk Middle School. Everything flashing by. It was like holding sand in my hands. It all disappeared over time. All of it slipping in through my fingers. How sad. If I wasn't being burned alive, I would've cried.
The flames surrounded me, hungry for my flesh.
"If you had just listened to me, Jennifer, none of this would have happened." I barely turned my head to see who had spoken.
My jaw dropped, and I accidentally inhaled some hot ash. I closed my mouth again. The person who had spoken was me. I was wearing the necklace. I was there, amongst the flames, sitting on the ruins of Ned's mattress idly examining my fingertips without a care in the world.
I was slumped against the wall, my life slowly dwindling away, being burned alive. I stared at what you could call my doppelganger. A twisted mirror image of myself.
"Look at yourself. Pathetic. How far you have fallen." I made a tsk sound and stepped over the burning floor. I walked over to myself.
Strangely enough, I found the strength to talk back. "I haven't fallen."
I stopped. "Oh? What makes you so sure of that?"
I smiled, serene and calm, like the eye of a hurricane. "Ned caught me."
Ned
Ignoring the protests from Cookie, I pulled myself up (reopening some cuts, and allowing myself to bleed to death even faster). I began to head back to the house. Somewhere in the distance, I heard the tell-tale sirens of police cars and fire trucks. I needed to hurry.
Cookie ran and stopped in front of me. "Out of the way, Cookie." I said. I would not be stopped in my mission.
"I can't let you do this, Ned. Please, you're going to get yourself killed!" Cookie pleaded with me. I roughly pushed him out of the way. He stood firm.
"Ned, the fire trucks are almost here! Let them save her!"
"It's been 10 minutes, Cookie. They'll be here in another 15 at the least. I can't wait that long." I limped toward the blazing inferno that was my house. "Moze can't wait that long."
"Ned, it's not worth it!" Cookie was yelling now, almost to the brink of tears. I stopped.
"Of course it's worth it, Cookie. OF COURSE IT"S WORTH IT! This is Moze we're talking about here. Best friend of over 14 years! I love her. I won't let her die. Not after everything she's done!"
"Ned, she's gone! She should have asphyxiated from lack of oxygen by now. It's hopeless!"
"Don't tell me that. Moze is stronger than that. She'll make it, and I will save her." I said the words with conviction and strength. Never before had I been so sure in my life. I was not about to give up hope on Moze.
Cookie sighed. Looks like my words had gotten through to him. "So how exactly are you going to save her Ned? The house is structurally unstable and the fire is eating through every single thing in there."
Oh, yeah. I hadn't really thought of a plan.
Oh, well, I think better on my feet anyway. Steeling myself against the incoming pain (which was inevitable, unfortunately – one does not go into a burning house and expect to come out unscathed) I ran inside without protection, without clothes (still wearing my boxers though), and without a plan.
Hell is really the only word I can use to describe what I saw inside.
Moze
"Oh, I SEE now. So, Ned caught you did he?" Evil Moze asked me (I know, I know, it's unoriginal but hey it's the truth).
I was slumped backwards, my back against the wall. I was bleeding from several cuts and the fire was eating away any oxygen. My evil twin sat on the bed mocking me. A giant pink elephant was standing beside me.
Hmm, definitely hallucinating.
Unfortunately, I was spared a quick death. Ned's mattress had flipped onto its side during the explosion and was shielding me from most of the fire. For now, anyway.
"So, Ned caught you when you fell did he?" Evil Moze seemed amused by this statement. "Such the gentleman he is-your knight in shining armor, I assume?"
"Yeah, something like that." Jeez, I didn't know that I could be such a – pardon the language – bitch. That necklace really brought out the worst in me.
Evil Moze laughed. "Oh, if you only knew how much I love to see you like this, Jennifer. Dying a nice, slow, painful death."
"Cut the chit-chat; why are you here?"
Evil Moze stood up and walked over to me, her hands clasped behind her back. "Well, I wanted a chance to speak to you, and frankly I want to kill you."
"Get in line. The fire was here first."
She laughed again. "Oh, Jennifer, I will miss our talks. We really did have good times, didn't we?"
This time I laughed. "What's so funny?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.
"You're a hallucination. A manifestation of everything I hate, fear, and despise. You can't hurt me with your words anymore. But I must admit that talking to you has been fun."
Evil Moze seemed to pause. "A hallucination, huh? Could a hallucination do this?"
She bent down and placed her hand on my throat. I felt it began to tighten.
Oh, crap.
Ned
It really wasn't one of my better plans. Not exactly number one on Ned Bigby's Best Plan List.
I stood in what used to be my living room. Everywhere I looked was fire and debris. I covered my head with my arms and began to make my way toward the staircase. I had to move fast – the ground was hot and unfortunately I wasn't wearing any type of protection.
The smoke was blinding me – I was beginning to cough violently. Why hadn't I brought a towel of some kind? Stupid, stupid, stupid!
"Ned!" It was Cookie. I heard glass shatter and something hit my arm. I looked down and saw a brick (stupid Cookie) and attached to the brick was a towel (thank God for Cookie!).
"Thanks, Cookie!" I wasn't sure if he heard me, but I didn't have time. I quickly wrapped the towel around my head. I had to hurry.
I made my way up the stairs, dodging flaming debris that falling from above. The smoke was getting thicker, and the air was getting hotter. Sweat was running down in rivulets down my neck and my back.
I was reaching the top! Then all I had to do was turn right and –
A piece of the roof came crashing down. I jumped back trying to avoid the flaming debris. The staircase behind me collapsed and burst into flame. The flames in front of me – the fire behind me. I was trapped.
Oh, crap.
Moze
I silently cursed myself for being so strong. I had to admit (grudgingly) I had a pretty good grip. Too bad it was being used to suffocate myself. I wonder if being killed by your evil twin (or whatever you call it) is considered suicide.
Funny, how your brain works when it's deprived of oxygen.
I tried to fight back – but it was no use. I was weak.
"You see what happens, when you try to fight back? You're weak. If you had me with you, you wouldn't be weak." She spat the words at me. I smelled that foul burnt stench again.
"When I had you, I was even more vulnerable. I wasn't stronger for it – you only made me oblivious to the pain."
"I showed you life."
"No. You deprived me of it."
The grip tightened, and Evil Moze's face took on an ugly expression. "Don't you understand? Life is an illusion! Its sand slipping through your fingers; sooner or later everything you love and care about will be gone! Taken away from you by forces you can't control. The world just expects you to turn your cheek; but why? Why? Why can't you strike back! They take something of yours; you take something back! You can have it all! So why won't you?!"
In that instant I understood. Evil Moze wasn't evil at all – she was me. She was scared just like me, of losing everything I cared about in this world. Understanding this, I spoke.
"That's life for you. The good and the bad; the ugly and the just downright wrong. You go on. You do your best. Life is like sand – it does eventually dissipate over time by forces we can't control. But why let it slip through you fingers? Instead of just letting it slip by, use it! Do everything you can with it! Use that sand to build a castle, a castle of sand! That way everything you love can be protected and you can weather anything that comes your way! Don't let your life slip through your fingers – build it, make it strong, like a castle. Make it last!" I spoke with invigorating energy, and with all the emotion I could muster. That is the truth I have to come to realize – life is too short to whine and cry about it. Do what you can, with what you have, with who you're with. When life gives you lemons you make lemonade. That kind of stuff.
If life is like sand slipping through your fingers, then why let it slip away? Use that sand to build a castle – make it last as long as you can. I was no longer afraid of living.
Evil Moze seemed to comprehend this. Then she just shrugged, and tightened her grip on my throat even more.
The blackness was eating away at the edges of my vision. I managed to snarl out one last word. "Bitch."
She shrugged again. "Takes one to know one."
Ned
The fire in front of me; the fire behind me. Either way spelled out certain fiery doom for me. I was running out of time. The towel was starting to lose its effectiveness; the smoke was thick and heavy.
I decided to take my chances. I ran through the fire in front of me.
At first I didn't feel anything. Then, all at once, my skin seemed to be on fire. I couldn't help but scream. I was burned badly; but I kept moving nonetheless. I had to get to Moze.
I was running on the last dredges of my energy. I leaped over a large hole in the hallway (actually that's been there – the fire didn't cause that, I did) and found myself facing my door. It was intact. Odd.
I reached out and grasped the doorknob-
Damn! I yanked back my hand. It was blistered and burned. Another injury to add to my growing list. The doorknob was hot. Not a good sign. I had to find another easier way inside my room.
I kicked down the door. It fell down on my first try (don't know my own strength, I guess) and collapsed in a cloud of sparks and hot ash. I took a look inside.
My jaw dropped, and I accidentally inhaled some hot ash. I closed it, rubbed my eyes, and took another look inside.
The smoke must have been really getting to me. I was seeing double.
TWO MOZES?!
I guess I must have gasped out loud, because one of the Mozes turned and saw me. She walked over to me. "Moze?" I asked carefully.
"Close, but no." The knife came out of nowhere, and with a flash of pain beyond anything I could handle. It was like someone had taken an ice pick and went crazy in my abdomen.
The spirit is willing, but the body is mortal. With that thought running through my mind, I collapsed in my own room the last remnants of my energy drained. I was exhausted, and the pain and the numerous wounds on my body weren't helping.
I heard my name being called. I vaguely wondered if it was Death itself come to take my life.
My name was shouted once more. I answered the beckons and succumbed to the darkness.
I apologize once again for the lateness of this chapter. I didn't mean to keep all of you reading waiting. I've been kind of busy lately. But hopefully this should whet your appetite until the next chapter. Until then, read on, give me a good review, and Chapter 7 should come. Soon, hopefully. Thanks again.
P.S. - I do hope that none of you are offended by some of the foul language (i.e. 'bitch') I used in here. It just seemed right to me. I do not advocate the use of such language, and I do not wish for anyone else to use it. Thanks, again.