A/N
Thanks to Michelle Maria Salvatore, Cenobia100, LocalTalent53 and A Mosaic Masterpiece for your reviews!
Holy C**p. I was not expecting this chapter to turn out this long. All your theories are indeed interesting, and it is definitely interesting that all of you have come up with your own conclusion with the barest of hints, with one word that begins with B... *insert evil laugh here*.
NEWS! READ!
*Ahem*
First off, I now have a confirmed that for Final Destination, Egyptian Heritage. That is, (in England, any who) the 20th of April (on a non-related note, three days before my birthday). If you haven't already, go check out the trailer. It will be shorter than recent works, likely twenty chapters or so.
Finally, at the end of this chapter, I shall reveal something important about this fanfic and my future, so be sure to read. Hopefully, each and every one of you will be surprised about my chapter today, and I've worked my ass of doing this, and I goddamn hope it's gonna work out... (If you can't tell, I'm even more nervous than the accident chapter). Also, prepare for a long speech at the end. It's important to me that you read it.
Without further ado, READ ON!
"You are such a bitch." Giggled Chloe's friend over the phone.
Smiling at the small tease, Chloe continued to walk down the street with one hand in her pocket and the other to her ear with her phone. "I've been told that before." Chloe let out a small laugh, all an act so that she could be friendly with her so called 'friend'. As they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. And every female was a potential enemy. "Although, it is so irritating. I mean, sure, we have rain and wind, but to actually be quarantined in this..." Chloe looked around her surroundings with narrowed eyes and waved her hand, trying to think of the right word. "...Wasteland. Although, you can definitely tell that it doesn't usually rain here." Chloe kicked the solid and cracked ground, which still hadn't softened despite the amount of rain.
"Even so, leaving Jeremy to find somewhere to stay and you strolling around like nothing."
"Yeah, well, I'm not going to go floundering around to find someplace to live. Jeremy's better at that stuff than me." Chloe looked to the side as she passed a rattling fan from outside some fast-food restaurant. Crunching her nose, Chloe crossed the road. "Well, when I get back, those four guys better be waiting for me."
"Of course, we'll be arranging that for you." Was the friend's slightly annoyed tone. "Although... don't you think you ought to be more serious?"
"Serious? About what?" Chloe raised an eyebrow.
"Well, that accident was all over the news. Over twenty people dead... kids and adults alike. And you're bothered about getting laid?"
Chloe's eyes turned to slits in annoyance. "Hey, I didn't ask for your opinion alright? When-" Chloe was cut off as the phone slipped from her hand. "Damn!" Chloe tried to catch the phone, but it bounced off her palm and onto a drain grating in the gutter, which the rain was running down in torrents. The small phone balanced on the one of the bars, teetering. "Phew..." Chloe grinned as she bent down. "That was... close..." Chloe's eyes widened as her fingertips touched the phone, knocking it straight down the drain pipe. Out of pure instinct, Chloe thrust her hand between the bars to grab her phone, but the phone just clattered down the drain pipe. "Fuck!" Chloe exclaimed, pulling her arm back.
However, she came to an abrupt stop as her hand was wedged in tight between the bars. Chloe pulled harder, but it was just more painful. "Oh, you are kidding me... you are most definitely kidding me..." Chloe tried to turn her hand, but she couldn't even manage that. "Oh, don't do this... come on!"
Unbeknownst to Chloe, the previous rattling fan she had noticed from before was started to shake more ferociously as years of bad care and the new addition of rain to speed up the rusting process started to loosen the grate covering the spinning fan.
XXX
"It's good that we found somewhere quick, huh." Jennifer tried to spark conversation, but Jason was still in the same position he had been for a while, sitting with his hands clasped together on the edge of the bed. "Jason... you can share whatever is bothering you with me, you know..." Jennifer walked over and sat next to Jason.
"Yeah..." Jason merely said.
"Come on... I know that things have been bad with you imagining that-"
"I didn't imagine it!" Jason snapped, turning his head towards Jennifer. "I don't know if you realised, but what I saw happened! I know I don't remember, but I know it happened. Christ, Jennifer, I wanted quiet, and you are not being quiet!"
Other than the wind and rain, silence followed the outburst. Sighing, Jason bent his head. "Sorry..." Jason looked back up to Jennifer. "I shouldn't have said that."
"It's fine." Smiling sweetly, Jennifer clasped his hand in a friendly manner. "You're just going through a rough patch." Jennifer waited for a response, but when she got none, focused on Jason. "Hey?" Jason didn't respond. Looking at Jason's eyes, Jennifer almost withdrew in shock as his eyes had gone completely white, as if he had rolled his eyes in the back of his head. However, Jennifer could see the faint circle of his pupil, which confirmed that wasn't the case. "Jason!"
Instead of responding, Jason stood up as if possessed, his left arm hanging limply. He raised his right hand and positioned it in front of him. Jason then turned and lumbered over to Jennifer's handbag.
Standing up, Jennifer tugged Jason's shoulders. "What's wrong? What are you-" Jennifer was cut off as Jason tugged harshly forward, knocking her off balance. Jason rummaged through Jennifer's handbag before pulling out bright red lipstick.
Limping over to the wall, Jason undid the lipstick and pressed it against the plaster, before making a long line.
XXX
"Come on, come on, come on!" Chloe hissed between her teeth. "Where the hell is everyone!" Looking up from her wrist Chloe tried to scout anyone, but either everyone was inside because of the cold or working. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Chloe sat down, restricted to waiting until someone happened to see her. "Why the hell did I put my hand in here?" Chloe muttered to herself when a clunk caught her attention. Managing to turn her head just enough, Chloe saw the cover of the fan on the floor, and the fan spinning wildly, going slowly outwards. Shaking her head and putting her mind off it, Chloe turned back to her wrist in a futile attempt to get it out again.
XXX
After almost five minutes, Jason's eyes faded back to the normal black pupils and blue eyes. Jason turned his head, looking at the large picture on the wall to the lipstick in his hand and to Jennifer who was watching him in a stupor.
"Jenni...fer...?" Jason suddenly swayed on his feet, before falling backwards. Jennifer just managed to gain her senses in time to catch Jason.
"Are you okay, Jason?" Jennifer asked tentatively, fear evident in her eyes.
Jason's eyes flitted back to the picture. "...tired..." with that, Jason closed his eyes.
Initially frightened, Jennifer calmed herself down by the steady rise and fall of Jason's chest. Laying him down on the floor carefully – he was much too heavy for Jennifer to put on the bed – Jennifer turned back to the drawing Jason has drawn in her lipstick.
It consisted of small mobile phone, with blur marks spreading upwards, indicating it was falling. To the side of the phone was a three-pronged fan, with rapid circles surrounding it, frantic and rough as if it were spinning out of order. Finally, a number of words surrounding the two pictures.
LIAR.
CONNIVING.
MANIPULATING.
MISLEADING.
CORRUPTED.
SPOILT.
Finally, at top in the biggest writing: BITCH.
XXX
"I got things to do..." Chloe used her free hand to wipe some water from her eyes and leant backwards, the small sound of her high heel bending going unnoticed. "HEY!" Chloe shouted in an attempt to contact somebody, but either she wasn't heard or was being ignored. "HELLO? ANYONE...?" Chloe let out a frustrated gasp. "I am such a stupid bitch... Why the hell did I do something as stupid as this?" Chloe suddenly heard a snap and wrenched her head towards the fan again, which had detached and was souring towards her. Wildly, Chloe pulled herself backwards, her hand popping free from the grating. The spinning fan sliced into a wall, chipping the stone and bouncing back across to the grating, jamming itself in with one part sticking upwards.
"Holy..." Chloe felt sweat run down her face, easily distinguished from the rain. "That... that was my head... Ow!" Chloe winced as electric pains ran up her arm. Looking down towards the previously trapped hand, Chloe saw that it was bent at an unnatural angle. Biting her lower lip, Chloe lifted the hand to get a closer inspection, confirming the fact that it was almost certainly broken.
"Chloe!"
Chloe turned around to see Jeremy walking towards her with a smile on his face.
"I found us a place to stay." Jeremy's smile faltered as he saw Chloe's hand. "What...?"
"Don't just stand there, you idiot." Chloe stepped forward. "Where the hell is the hospital in this place?" Chloe suddenly teetered as the heel of her high heeled boot bent inwards. Tipping backwards off balance, Chloe's arms flailed. Jeremy lunged forward to catch her, but Chloe was already falling and landed hard on her back on top on the grating. "Ah!" Chloe's eyes widened in pain. She tried to push herself up, but accidently used her broken hand. With a sickening crack, a white bone split through her skin. Chloe cried out in pain again.
"Oh... what..." Jeremy looked pale and confused, looking around. "What do I do? Chloe, what do I – "
"Help me up?" Chloe suggested through gritted teeth. She lifted her good hand and motioned for Jeremy to take it.
Jeremy reached down to take it, when he froze and his eyes slightly widened even more at Chloe's chest.
"What the hell are you staring at?" Irritated beyond belief, Chloe looked down towards her chest and saw the tip of something shiny poking out just below her breasts. "Oh..." Chloe blinked in surprise as a small dribble of blood was freed from her mouth. Suddenly pain burst through Chloe's body like nothing before, spasms running up and down her spine and seemingly through every bone in her body. Chloe wildly grasped outwards and managed to grab a shell-shocked Jeremy's hand. Pulling him down with strength, Jeremy fell to his knees.
"H-H-Hosp..." Chloe's eye darted back and forth to the tip of the fan, before spitting out some more blood. Feeling extremely cold, and feeling the urge to just close her eyes, Chloe's mind ran rampant through every single possibility. Suddenly, she felt hot tears run down her cheeks, clearer than any of the pain running through her body. "J...Jere-Jeremy..." Chloe pulled his hand again, pulling a now extremely pale and silent Jeremy close to her face. "I...I'm sorry... s-sorry... sorry..." Hundreds of apologies ran through her mind, none of which Jeremy knew about. Seeing other men, lying to him, using him as a source of money and presents. Forcing him to do her every bidding... she was the slave master and he was her slave. Chloe closed her eyes tight as guilt ran through her body almost as bad as the pain. Squeezing her hand against Jeremy's own, Chloe saw the blackness of her closed eyes getting darker and darker. Even as her voice broke and faltered, Chloe could only keep repeating the words 'I'm sorry' in her mind, trying to keep the feeling of Jeremy's hand in her own. However, even that feeling disappeared, until Chloe was completely and utterly alone in the darkness.
XXX
"Hey... Hey!"
Finding herself opening her eyes, Chloe was initially confused. She was staring up at the quite clear blue skies. Turning her head left and right, Chloe saw an asphalt road and a lush green lawn.
"Hey, a-are you okay?"
Chloe managed to sit up, noting the fact that there was no pain in either her chest or her hand. Then her eyes widened. In front of her, no more than twelve years old, was Jeremy. His hair was cropped embarrassingly short and braces caused his teeth to shine brightly in the sun.
Blinking, confused, Chloe looked down and saw she was in a pale green dress, with her legs surprisingly short. Placing her hands against her face, she felt the small nose, smooth cheeks, and the pigtails.
Jeremy let out a nervous smile. "I don't think that's the best place to go to sleep, don't you think?"
"No..." Chloe found the voice was her twelve year old self, and that she couldn't control what she was saying. "Who are you?"
"Oh, uh, my name is Jeremy Stephen Edwards." Jeremy's cheeks grew slightly red. "Uh... and you're Chloe Marvin, aren't you?"
"Yes... How do you know who I am?"
"I...I... uh... I watched you in the school plays. Always the lead..." Jeremy's smile brightened. "You were always so good, whatever part you were playing."
"Oh?" Chloe couldn't help but shiver as the feeling of pleasure of that compliment ran through her.
"Yeah... and you... you always looked nice too..." Jeremy let out a nervous laugh and rubbed his nose.
Tilting her head in curiosity, Chloe patted the grass next to her. "Sit down, Jeremy..."
Now beet red, Jeremy sat down, but pulled his knees under his chin.
"I've never had someone compliment me like that." Chloe smiled, turning towards the nervous and small boy. "My mother only compliments what she sees in me that relates to her, and my dad is too busy to give serious comments." Chloe smile grew brighter "But... I hope that one day I'll get compliments like that all year round."
"I can give you compliments all year round." Jeremy said, without thinking.
Chloe felt her own cheeks grow hot. "Oh...? You'd have to go to my premieres then."
"Premieres?"
"Yes." Chloe stood up and spun around in a flourish, grinning brightly. "I want to be in Hollywood! I want people to see me and go 'wow!' I want the feeling of compliments forever and ever!" Chloe put both her hands on Jeremy's and pulled the surprised boy upwards. "You gave me my first ever 'real' compliment! Can you... can you give me that feeling forever and ever...?" Chloe asked shyly, looking into Jeremy's wide brown eyes.
"Forever and ever!" Jeremy nodded quickly. "If you want me, I'll be by your side forever! I'll do what you want and I'll see you become what you want to become!"
"So sweet." Impulsively, despite the fact she had only met Jeremy then and there, Chloe leaned down and pecked Jeremy on the cheek. As they said, sometimes you meet the right person at the most unexpected time. "I'll be waiting for you." With that, Chloe walked off, her right hand still holding Jeremy's own right hand. Chloe turned back with a shy smile, and let go. "Bye, bye Jeremy Stephen Edwards!" With a small wave, Chloe ran off with a golden laugh.
XXX
That was me...? I was so sweet then... so nice to Jeremy... What happened to me? Where did I go wrong? When did I grow corrupted? Jeremy... I forgot who I was... only another reason. Another reason to say sorry, Jeremy. I am so, so sorry...
But stay by me forever, Jeremy... please... forever and ever...
XXX
"You need to step outside, son."
"Come on, we'll take care of her."
"Now, now, we need our space otherwise we can't help."
Forcefully, Jeremy was removed from the hospital room and finally detached from Chloe's grasp. Pushed out of the room, the door was shut. Jeremy looked through the window and watched as a group of medical personnel treated Chloe.
Somehow, she had stayed hanging on. Throughout the minutes that passed before the sirens of the ambulance were heard, throughout the cutting of the fan underneath her to detach it from the grating, throughout the slightly bumpy journey in the ambulance, and even as she was stretchered into the hospital, Jeremy had held on to her hand as tight as he could, and the hand gripped him even tighter. Even as Chloe had turned pale, and even as her voice faded, she held on to him and he held on to her.
But now, Jeremy couldn't hold on. He knew it in his heart that he had to let the doctor's work. It really was a miracle that Chloe had held out this long. Pressing his nose against the window, Jeremy watched the crowd of doctors. The thought of strangers touching her made Jeremy slightly angry and worried. He convinced himself it was for the best. If he couldn't trust those who could hold a life in their palm, who could he trust?
Then the shutters were drawn, to avoid strangers looking in. His touch had been cut off, and now his vision was shut off too. Jeremy felt a warm hand on his shoulder as a friendly nurse guided him silently towards a waiting chair. Knowing it was best not to say anything for the moment, the nurse disappeared again, leaving Jeremy mentally exhausted in the chair, every urge in his body forcing him to sleep.
But he didn't sleep. He stayed awake, watching the door with unblinking eyes. Somehow he felt that if he stayed awake, Chloe would stay awake.
He stayed in the position for ten minutes, and then twenty more. A full half an hour since Chloe had been brought in, the door finally opened and a female doctor with a small amount of blood on her scrubs walked out slowly. Looking around, she spotted Jeremy and walked towards him. "Are you Jeremy?"
Jeremy nodded mutely, his heart straining at the answer that could potentially change him forever.
The doctor wringed her hands, before letting out a small smile. "We have stopped most of the bleeding. Thankfully, the blade just missed her spine and missed all major organs. She is very fortunate. She's is in critical condition, but she is stable. As far as we can tell, she should be fine unless there are unexpected complications."
To Jeremy, everything had stopped after 'stable'. It was as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and he slumped down in relief and exhaustion. Before he knew it, Jeremy felt tears running down his cheeks, splattering against his chest. The doctor sat down next to him and grasped Jeremy's hand.
"She started speaking as soon as you left the room. She couldn't stop saying, 'I'm sorry, Jeremy.'" Letting go of Jeremy's hand, the doctor stood up. "You must mean a lot to her."
XXX
"I don't believe this one bit... This is impossible... How the hell do you explain that one Miles?" The man in the drama mask shirt looked down to his little brother in disbelief from across the room, watching the exchange between the doctor and Jeremy.
Miles was wide-eyed. "I don't understand. She was first... undoubtedly, she was first. The fan coming undone, it shooting out and hitting the grating, her falling onto it... everything was just like the normal accidents. Everything should have indicated that she was going to die..."
"Are you certain, Miles?"
"You know I don't make mistakes, brother..." Miles shook his head. "I've never, ever made a mistake, and for good reason."
"You're telling me..." The man sighed.
Miles started to bite his thumb nail. "I don't understand... It's so confusing. Not even new life or even killing in exchange worked out like this. When people killed other people, they still end up dead. Death doesn't get tricked, he just doesn't."
"Maybe it worked because it wasn't a trick." The man glanced towards Jeremy and then back towards Miles. "Perhaps, it was a simple matter of 'want'."
"'Want?' Are you kidding?" Miles shook his head. "If I told you how many people 'wanted' to live, but died anyway, I'd be talking to your corpse. It isn't a matter of want... No way..."
"It is definitely a first, though." The man leant against the wall. "But a relief, too. Until this point, every single person who was first on the list, died. They always proved to be the starting ground of discovery, the key to the list. But this time, the first person didn't die. The first person avoided death without any outside interference."
"Exactly. Why is this 'Chloe' special? Is she something unique, is she something new? Could she have found out about Death?" Miles looked down, and was now talking to himself more than to his brother. "No... She couldn't have found out about Death. She was talking to her friend about meeting with guys... so casual... a trick? She's not smart enough." Miles suddenly looked up. "Am I thinking too hard? Is this a trick?" Miles eyes were pleading.
"I don't know what to think, brother. But I think things are sure to be interesting." Scratching his chin, the man turned away. "I wonder how Death will react, now that the humans have avoided his opening move in his game of Chess."
A/N (Prepare for a long speech, (over 1,000 words), but please, please read!
And with that opening move, the game has been set. It is not going to be simply a 'four-move Checkmate' for Death. Oh, far from it.
Now, Egyptian Heritage will run through this story, and (if I time it correctly) will end before this tale is over. That is, because, Final Destination - Revelations, is going to indeed be my final destination of Final Destination stories. After this big project, I will hang up my writing gloves in the Final Destination genre, and indeed, all genre's after that (other than my other OP project). I will be moving on over to Fictionpress, to start the next stage of my development, that is, original stories.
But enough about that, you want to hear about the news for this story, don't you? (Which actually trails back to me after rereading this...) Other than the fact that this is my last, biggest, and hopefully most awesome yet, the fact is, that no Final Destination movie has offered even a glimpse of a 'conclusion'. They are, frankly, repetitive (but still great!).
Many Final Destination stories are the same, including my own. Death wins. It's over with a snap of the fingers. The plans don't work. Even more Final Destination stories stop before they even start.
However, I offer a conclusion. I offer an ending to Final Destination. A conclusion I believe is truly 'true' to the Final Destination series. One of the many meanings of my title of 'Revelations' is the 'revelation' of Death. What is this entity? What does it represent? Why does it do what it does?
The end will not be an 'Apocalypse'. There will be no Four Horseman, or twists that go out of hand, or failed ideas. No stopped stories, not silly intermixing or failures. It shall be Death on its own, with revelations of its own. Final Destination at its core and at its heart. Finally, we find out who this 'Death' character is, why he is so important, and why he is fixated on 'visionaries' and 'accidents'.
It will be big. It will be grand. In many stories (again, including my own) you will find the deaths of characters frequently, every chapter or so. Characters lose potential. Characters lose development, they are not given the time to blossom and grow. I intend to make those characters that I have been given bloom into something no-one expects, that everyone loves. That is why, during this story, I am to reach a benchmark that none have reached before in Final Destination.
That is, the 100,000 Word Mark. It's a big goal, but it is a goal I am determined to reach as my Grand Finale in Final Destination and all my non-OP works.
There will be deaths. But they will mean something. In a way, this chapter demonstrates the problem's so many stories have now-a-days. I could have killed Chloe then and there, but where would the relationship with Jeremy go? I want this couple to develop. I want Dorothy to grow and learn with David, to meet new friends, from the leather-clad Riley to the homeless Becca. I want the orphan Tyrone to be influenced by the adults around him. I want Lukas' tough live to continue, but for him to learn and mature through it. Jay and Josie, Jason and Jennifer, Chloe and Jeremy. Couples that are initially introduced. But I want new couples formed, and broken, and perhaps even formed again. For most, Jeremy would have watched his loved one die on that street and broken down (Much the same as Dominique in The Savior). He would have grown into obscurity, and randomly killed off. Not this time, oh no, not this time.
I want this. I need this. For me, it's more than a simple Fanfiction story. For me, it's a step towards my (to be cliché) dream. To be an Author. To envelop my fans. I am not perfect, but each and every chapter, each and every story, and most importantly, each and every one of your reviews, your supports and criticisms, it helps me grow. I help me mature, and it helps me be who I always wanted to be, and do what I always wanted to do. At the bud of my live (17 on the 23rd), my simple wish is to see my name on the side of a hardback cover and to be brought by many. It may seem silly to some, stupid to others, but it is simply my dream and I intend to do this.
Final Destination – Revelations will prove to be this stepping stone, this marker, this pinnacle of my development into the next stage.
My aims are simple, but vast. To write over 100,000 words. To mix thirteen characters in a perfect mesh. To introduce a conclusion to Death and to Final Destination.
Final Destination – Revelations will prove to me if I am ready. Will prove to me if I can take that next step. If this story flops, I will flop. If it succeeds and you all love it, I will embrace this as a token to take with me across to Original's. As I said before, I need this. It is not just a Fanfiction, it is my confirmation.
Finally, to the end of this long speech, it is to you, my fans and loyal readers, I ask of you for two simple things. To criticise every single thing I do. Be it a spelling mistake or a mix-up in the plot. I will correct it, I will learn from, it will grow from it. Please, do this for me and I will be one very happy young man.
The second, to support me. I don't need nasty comments. I don't mind if you hate my work, just tell me why, and perhaps, maybe, I will develop it for you. I aim to please, and for me to please I need your support. I'm not going to do something as childish as 'I'll only update if I get reviews'. I'll update whenever, but for me to grow, your support is all that is simply needed. Be it criticism or compliments, I'll take it, receive it, use it.
Thank you for (Hopefully) reading, and please enjoy this experience. Please enjoy my grand finale. Please enjoy, Final Destination – Revelations as the conclusion.
Thank you.