AN: Hi, peoplez! Some of you may have seen me lurking-ahem-browsing through the 39 Clues fandom. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Jade, and this is the first story I've posted (cue the facepalming and loud groans), so I would love, love, love any criticism you can offer. Just make sure to tell me exactly what's wrong with it, and I will do my Janus best to fix it.
This was written for Gone's December Madness and Insanity Contest, written right against the deadline. It was a little rushed, so that's the excuse I'll make for its suckishness. :D The subject I wrote it on is about Paranoia (as you can tell by its extremely uncreative title), and its main character is none other than Jonah Wizard. Don't forget to leave a review! :D
Disclaimer: I do not own the 39 Clues.
Erasmus...dead...Luna...dead...
Jonah held the gun with shaking hands.
Erasmus...
What had he just done?
Dead...
Had he really killed someone?
Luna...
Had he really shot down an old lady?
Dead...
The thoughts swirling through his numbed brain were not true thoughts, just...colors. Feelings. Pure, undiluted horror. He could still feel the gun's cold tremor throughout every inch of his body.
Erasmus...
Vaguely, as if through a fog, he could feel Hamilton pulling on his arm, urging him to move, to get out of the building. Why should he? If he was blown up, who would care? He was a murderer, just like his mom wanted him to be.
No.
He would not obey her now. Jonah Wizard was his own person, no one else's. In fact, it was her fault that this had happened. She had pressured him all those years to become Lucian-like, and she had driven him to it.
Erasmus...
"Come on!" The shout from Hamilton tore him out of his brooding trance. Jonah followed him, feeling as though his body had been taken over by someone else and he was just a spectator. Maybe this was all a dream. Maybe he would wake up soon and find out that the whole thing had been a dream, like in a movie.
Dead...
He had learned to shoot guns in his movie; perhaps that was why everyone was dead. Fate was taunting Jonah Wizard, taking his fame and turning into something foul and nasty.
Luna...
Foul and nasty. Like a Vesper. Like Luna. The ones who were ruthless killers were slowly turning him into one of them.
Dead...
Why couldn't everything and everyone just leave him alone? Why couldn't he just be by himself, safe in his own presence? Who could he trust now? Hamilton? A slightly more intelligent Tomas than the others, but still stupid. Ian? A sly Lucian who would probably use the information against him. Sinead? An unfeeling Ekat. Amy?
Dead...
A loud explosion ripped into his eardrums, and he jumped accordingly. "Come on," Hamilton repeated. Jonah realized that he and the Interpol agent had been chatting for quite a few minutes. What if he was planning on turning Jonah in, now that he had murdered someone. But Ham wouldn't do that...would he?
Trust no one...
The Clue Hunt motto said that no one, no one could be relied on. Was that true now, as well? Could Amy be trusted? She had always been pretty supportive of him outside the Hunt; she could protect him from everyone who was after him.
Trust no one...
But who wasn't after him? All of the Cahills, possibly even Amy, would soon hate him for killing a human being, even one like Luna. The Vespers would hate him for killing one of their own. The only one on his side was...Phoenix.
Phoenix...
He had to find the kid, even if it killed him. And somebody just might. He might end up like Luna someday, his body never found.