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Chapter 3: Don't Talk to Strangers

Don't talk to strangers

'Cause they're only there to do you harm

Don't write in starlight

'Cause the words may come out real…

Jane was sitting silently on the doorstep of her trailer, watching the midnight sky. Her eyes felt already dry, so she chose to close them for a while. As soon as her eyelids shielded her sight, she wrapped one arm around her knees and let the other rest on the doorstep, holding an almost empty bottle of beer.

She shivered, hid her ankles under the long nightgown, and rested her chin on her knee. A melody found its way to her subtle vocal chords. A song she knew for so long… For a lifetime, she dared to think. The favorite song of her mother.

Jane smiled weakly, remembering how she used to sit beside her, trying to play the intriguing instrument with white and black keys. But she never achieved the precision her mother had possessed. Well, Jane knew she could have, however, it would consume too much of her time. Music was not an easy thing; it required hard training, several hours each day. And well, Jane chose to spend her precious share of time with science books. And the stars.

The space above had always been the one to win that battle.

However, there was no other thing Jane would always associate with the endless universe than the music. Whenever she watched the starry sky, she would hear this melody – should she be lying in the desert sand in the night or operating the huge telescope at the university observatory. The favorite song of her mother.

But… what do I have now?

Jane opened her eyes again and let the melody vanish in the hovering night.

The stars are so far away… And you are with them… Both of you… All of you…

A barely audible gasp escaped her throat as a silent tear fell straight into the small, tiny cavity between her toes. Realizing that, Jane let out a breath that was almost a laugh.

Isn't this just funny? I would never manage to do that intentionally.

She thought and as soon as she did so, Jane lifted the hand that was holding the bottle, tilted it slowly to let just one drop escape and waited. Of course, several rather huge drops of the smelly liquid ran out instead and poured over her toes.

"Silly girl." She admitted then and tossed the bottle away.

"Always so eager to try things just because you can?" A quiet, soft voice arrived with the light blow of the breeze.

Jane held her breath in shock, shot up and looked around, eyes wild. "Who..?"

She noticed a shadow approaching form the left side. Her heart skipped a beat in horror. She caught the doorframe and fell inside her trailer, slamming the door shut.

"Ah!" a drop of blood appeared on her finger as she overturned the knife rack, desperately searching for the taser. In the second she found it, she spun around, crashed against the counter and observed the closed door. Who the hell is it? Her pulse was drumming in her ears; her breathing was shallow and quick.

After few moments of silence, she managed to bring her dry lips together and close her mouth. However, she had to dilate her nostrils to sustain the air flow her lungs required.

"Wh…" her voice failed her with the first attempt. She cleared her throat. "Who are you?"

No answer.

"I asked something!" She shouted. Or wait… was that real?

Jane! She wanted to slap her own face. Of course it's real! You're not insane…

"What the fuck do you want from me?" She uttered in the end.

"I just came to share some witty conversation." A comforting voice sounded. "I truly believed I could get some right here." He paused. "However, I see I must have been under a delusion."

Jane frowned. "What? Wait, what do you mean by 'delusion'?" She asked in an angry and shaky voice.

She could swear she felt the mysterious person shrug. "I believe such words as 'fuck' do not deserve a rightful place in a witty conversation."

Jane frowned even more.

Hey..!

She took a deep breath and tried to release the spams in her arms. "All right! Then… What in the Odin's beard, Thor's hammer and Loki's shiny horns do you mean?" She waited a second. "Better?"

Jane, to her own surprise, let a smirk on her face. "Am I not capable of a witty conversation? That's what you think? Well, and who do you think you are to think... I cannot think… about… what to say..?" she uttered, regretting all the consumed beer that was causing this drivel and tying her tongue at the same time.

An even more comforting, almost sweet sound, drifted over delicately. He laughed.

"Oh, Miss Foster. You just climbed right above my expectations."

"Oh, really?" Jane purred acidly. "Hm… Such a shame. You chose a wrong moment, you know. I must apologize here. I had some beer. And as you may know, alcohol tends to slow the wits. So… now you can imagine how it could have been if I wasn't drunk."

"You're drunk?" The stranger tried.

"Yep. But don't be afraid, I still can hold the taser in my hands."

He laughed again. "Miss Foster. Now you're just as pathetic as I always imagined you to be."

"Pathetic?" Jane squeaked in disbelief. She snorted. "You know, I'm a woman living all alone in the small trailer in the desert! I have to protect myself somehow. Or just… let myself believe I'm protected." She trailed off.

"I see." The voice acknowledged after a moment. "Well, Jane, just be careful. Before one knows, all the beliefs can shatter in a blink of an eye." Jane was almost sure she heard a hint of bitterness.

"You sound like you know what it means." She tried.

"And you, Miss Foster?" He asked in reply. "You also sounded like you know, just a few minutes ago."

Silence.

"I could not overhear that sad melody as I was passing by." He continued.

"How long have you been watching me?" Jane asked, looking down.

"Long enough." The answer came and his fingers drummed on the trailer wall.

Jane's heart was racing again. What do you want from me? She had to scowl at her own helplessness.

"I guess the song has a meaning..?" He voiced his thoughts quietly, tentatively. From behind the closed door it sounded rather muted, so Jane had to think the words over a few times before she realized what she had been asked.

"Um… That's… That's the song my mother used to play. Chopin's 'Raindrops Prelude'. She loved it. She played it whenever she was sad, whenever the day was warm and sunny… She could always think of an occasion. And… She played whenever I asked her to." Jane could still feel her heart beating, but something else was driving it this time.

"And am I right in assuming that no matter how many times you would ask her now, she won't play anymore?"

"No, she won't…" Jane managed before her throat constricted and held all the other sounds inside. No matter how subtly the thought was voiced, she was forced to close her eyes in a futile attempt to hold the tears back.

Jane did not know how long she had been biting her lip before the stranger spoke again.

"So what about you? Can you play that song, too?"

"Yes." she breathed. "But not as well as she did."

"I guess she would love it anyway." He reassured. "Not to mention… I am also quite curious to hear it."

The last remark made Jane wake up. Her brows knitted together. What? Then her lips twirled a bit.

Let's try something… "You?" she asked in a casual and colorless tone. "I mean… You'd like to hear me playing the song?"

"Why not?"

Jane lifted her brows. "Now?" She struggled hard to keep her voice steady.

Silence.

She bit her lip to stop the wide, victorious grin. "You have no idea who Chopin was, right?"

"Hmmm…" He hesitated. "No."

Jane, not able to fight the grin any longer, cleared her throat. "What a pity… Well, and wouldn't you agree that a certain level of general knowledge is required for a witty conversation?"

"You're certainly right, Miss Foster." He admitted in a playful voice. "However, isn't it also a true goal of such a conversation? To learn from your partner? What profit could I get from a dialogue with someone who knows as much as myself?"

"So, are you trying to imply I know much more than you?" Jane tilted her head in anticipation.

"You have your knowledge and I have mine." A neutral answer came.

"How painfully true, isn't it?" She bit back.

"Painfully?" He must have lifted his eyebrows right now. "Oh, why?"

"Well, I think you're quite ahead when it comes to certain topics. Our names, for instance..?" Jane tried.

"Miss Foster…" his voice sounded amused. "Are you sure you want to know who I am?"

"Try me." She shrugged.

"Than I have just one word for you."

Jane swallowed and prickled her ears. She was not sure anymore if the feelings overwhelming her being were fear, surprise, curiosity or anger.

But it did not matter as now there was something to focus on. And so she did. She held her breath.

"Loki."

A name found its way through the trailer door, through her skin and flesh and bone.

And she breathed out. With her mind suddenly clear as never before, she turned slowly to put the taser where she had found it and took a few small steps towards the entrance. She held the doorknob in her trembling hand.

And opened the door.

Just a bit. She created just a thin slit to let some light beams illuminate the person outside.

A crystal-clear, green orb harboring an unrestrained, mischievous twinkle was watching her curiously.

She blinked.

It must have lasted an eternity.

"Miss Foster, your right eye is astonishing. Now I am even more curious about how does the left one look…"

Another breath. Without a second thought, Jane moved her head just a fraction to the right, so she was touching the door surface. Now she was watching him with the left eye.

"Like this..?" she offered.

The thin lower lip curled inside his mouth as he lowered his eyes. "You're… funny, Miss Foster." he answered quietly.

A squeak sounded as Jane opened the door fully. And with her hand still on the doorknob, she just stared at him.

His hair was dark as his clothes and as the night around them. And it looked almost unearthly, how his pale skin and green eyes contrasted with that dark appearance.

"You humans just won't stop surprising me…" He sounded at last, crossing his arms and leaning his shoulder against the trailer surface.

"What?" was all Jane was capable of.

He smiled. Jane almost gasped at that sight.

"Who would have ever guessed it's my name that opens your door?"

She waited. Jane waited for his hand to shot up and squeeze her throat. She closed her eyes.

And opened them again. With curiosity, he was staring at her chest. Oh, so maybe we'll have some fun before the final blow… She shrugged internally.

Is it normal to be so calm before a certain death, by the way?

However, no attempt, no attack or final blow, nothing on Earth could have ever confused her more than the two words that followed.

"Hello kitty?" He frowned as he read the sign on her nightgown. "It doesn't look like one at all!"

What? Jane snorted. What the..?

And then she remembered. "Ah, you mean… yeah, that's… Sorry, it's a… it was a present from Darcy. She always gives kind of… crazy presents, you know. I… um, I don't have any other clean night gown, so… yeah. Sorry." She sighed. "I guess even someone like you does not deserve to watch this."

Ah, Jane! She marveled at her own boldness and – what was it? Carelessness?

He smiled again.

Oh.

"Gruesome view, indeed." He noted, finally.

"So…" Jane uttered, rubbing her right calf with her left instep, looking away.

"So?" He repeated.

"What are you waiting for?" She asked, waiting. No words came in reply, so she continued her premise. "Kill me." She whispered, looking down. "As you killed him… Your brother."

A rush of cool air poured over her skin as a set of ice-cold fingers held her jaw firmly. "I don't have a brother. I never had." He hissed.

Jane winced and closed her eyes as the fingernails dug deeper.

"And your beloved Son of Odin is alive. Too much for my liking." His lips came closer to her ear. "Thank you for a fruitful conversation, Miss Foster. Good night."

Jane opened her eyes and blinked.

She was alone again.

Hey you, you know me, you've touched me, I'm real

I'm forever the one that lets you look and see and

Feel me

I'm danger - I'm the stranger

And I, I'm darkness, I'm anger, I'm pain

I am master

The evil song you sing inside your brain

Drive you insane

Don't talk

(Dio; Don't Talk to Strangers)

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