A Nightmare Remembered

Chapter VII: A Thing of the Past

Jack felt fatigued and slightly dizzy but his curiosity was getting the better of him at that moment. There was this fascinating device in the car door that controlled his window's movements, thus allowed him to raise or lower it as he pleased. Up and down it went for a total of ten minutes until Benjamin locked it. Startled, Jack looked at Benjamin who cleared his throat. He sunk into his seat.

"I apologize, I suppose that must get annoying after a while, but it was so…fascinating!" Jack explained. Benjamin grinned.

"Haven't you ever seen a car window before?" he asked Jack. Jack's thoughts went to the car the mayor own but it was nothing to this end.

"Yes, but not one such as this." Jack said a little embarrassed. Benjamin looked dubious.

"Well thanks, but this car is not that big a deal, it's falling apart and yeah, just isn't that great." Benjamin said sounding as embarrassed as Jack felt. Before Jack could reply a shrill ring came from Benjamin's pocket. He pulled out his cell phone and flipped it open. Jack was in awe. What is that contraption? he thought.

"Hey Agnes, what's going on?" Benjamin asked into the phone. Jack stared at Benjamin not wanting to miss a moment.

"Hey Benjamin, are you almost here? She's getting even more restless now. She's literally pacing all over the house. Richard is trying to talk her down, but you know her, once she gets in her mood, you can't really get through to her." A voice said from out of the device, which Jack figured must be Agnes.

"I am, I'm just dropping a friend off. Don't worry; it's literally down the street from you guys. Is she okay? Has she gotten any sleep?" Benjamin asked.

"A little but she keeps tossing and turning and yelling. We thought it would just be best to keep her awake." Agnes replied. Benjamin looked genuinely worried.

"Okay, don't worry I'm almost there."

"Okay, see you soon."

"Alright, bye." Benjamin closed the phone. Suddenly Jack's interest in the phone was gone and he started to feel even weaker than before. He fell back into his seat with a small thud. He felt weird, as if the closer he got to his destination, the weaker he felt. He shook his head to snap out of it.

"Is everything alright?" he managed to mutter. Benjamin shrugged.

"I dunno, my girlfriend sometimes flies into these episodes of rage and sorrow and we all have to calm her down. It's been this way ever since I met her. I love her more than anything, but sometimes it really stresses me out to keep driving out here. I've thought about moving in with her but she isn't so keen on the idea, she's not ready I guess and I respect that, it just gets hard sometimes." Benjamin replied. Jack nodded, paying only half attention. The car began to spin around him and he fell against his seat, beginning to fall over.

"Whoa! Are you okay guy? Jack? Are you alright? Don't worry, we are almost there." Benjamin said placing a hand on Jack's shoulder, trying to keep him from falling. Jack could barely hear what Benjamin was saying. His words began to mix into each other; the car began to melt into itself. Jack felt a tightness in his chest; air refused to go into his lungs. Suddenly he could hear a girl crying. She was sobbing beyond what the comfort of words and people could cure. Eve? Eve, is that you? Talk to me….Eve? The crying stopped and Jack felt his body hit the car door as the vehicle turned. The engine stopped and Benjamin rushed to get Jack out of the car before he passed out. Benjamin yelled, trying to get through to Jack, but it was no use for all Jack could hear was the muffled screams of his friend trying to bring him back. He could barely feel it when Benjamin grabbed Jack out of the passenger seat and wrapped his arm around him, carrying him over to the house to which they had just arrived.

"Stay with me Jack, come on! We're here, at your house." Benjamin yelled, but Jack heard none of it. Benjamin struggled to carry a fading Jack up the massive steps of his home, or at least what he assumed was his home. The last thing Jack felt was his legs buckle. He heard a knocking noise and then someone else was holding him up; then everything went dark.

oOo

I can't sleep. My dreams are haunted. I miss how I used to feel…wh-why can't I go back to the way I used to feel? I can't eat…I have no desire to do anything to sustain life. I don't want death, but I don't want life…..what is it I want? I feel better when I'm alone…and yet worse. What is this?

Jack's head was throbbing as he had never felt before. He cried out in pain, grabbing his head.

"Ahhhhh!" he screamed. He shuddered and squirmed. He began to massage his temples and breathe deep. He could feel a bed underneath him and tried to open his eyes.

"Take this." A voice said. Jack continued to squirm and try in vain to open his eyes.

"Wh-what?" Jack muttered.

"Open your eyes and take this." The voice insisted. Jack squinted his eyes open and saw a hand offering him an extremely tiny, white round thing and a glass of water.

"What is th-this?" Jack asked through his pain.

"Medicine. You put it in your mouth and swallow it down with the water here." The voice said. Jack blinked, grabbed the medicine and swallowed it.

"Will this take away this awful pain?" Jack asked meekly.

"Yes, but you must drink all of this water. Here, drink." The voice insisted. Jack did as he was told. "Good, now lay down and rest for a bit longer, the medicine should take effect in a little while." Jack opened his eyes a little wider, trying to see who he was talking to. It took a little while for Jack's eyes to adjust through the pain, but he finally managed to see his caretaker.

"Feeling a bit better now?" asked the voice that belonged to an elderly man who looked to be in his late 60's to early 70's, Jack could not entirely tell how old this man was. The man had a wise, expressionistic face. His hair was snow white, his eyes blue, and his smile comforting.

"Who are you?" Jack asked. The man grinned.

"I know who I am, the better question is who are you?" he asked teasingly. Jack pressed his head into the pillow and looked at the ceiling. Jack sighed, he wasn't sure if he could trust this man with who he was. Not that he would even know, but Jack was starting to feel lonely and wanted to share his identity and purpose with someone. So many thoughts peeled through Jack's head, who could he tell? Who would even believe him? He was definitely starting to feel that he couldn't do this alone. Jack took a deep breath.

"I'm-" he began but was interrupted. The old man laughed.

"I know who you are, Master Skellington."