Part seven of the Fun Times Are Over arc.
"Are you doing alright? You're sleeping fine?"
"I'm fine, daddy. Grandma doesn't let me go to bed late, I promise."
"Good." Jamie was relieved. Jade didn't sound like she was scared or tired. She was doing fine. At least not everything was turning horrible.
"I miss you. Grandma said you were coming for dinner tomorrow."
"I am." His mother had informed him he was coming for dinner during their brief talk when she answered the phone. She hadn't asked his opinion. Everyone was treating him like a child, lately.
"So I'll see you tomorrow?"
"That's right." He looked around to make sure Ashley was still upstair and continued in a low voice." Say, Jade, did you see Jack lately?"
"No. But it's spring!"
"Right. Just making sure. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night, sweetie."
"Night, daddy!"
Jade's answer told him two things: one, that the spirit was really leaving her alone, and two, that she still believed. He desperately needed to know that right now. He hadn't spoken long with Sophie when she returned from her walk, but he hadn't needed to. She didn't even know what was going on anymore. All she wanted was to sleep. Jamie wished he could sleep.
"You're looking awful," Ashley said, walking down the stairs. She sat next to him on the couch. "You should really try to go back to bed."
"I can't sleep."
"Sophie's managing it."
"Sophie doesn't believe anymore," he whispered.
"What? Doesn't believe in what?"
"In Jack."
"Your friend Jack Overland? I don't understand."
"Not Jack Overland, Ash. Jack Frost. That's his name. Jack Frost."
"Jamie..."
He grabbed her by the shoulders. He desperately needed her to believe him. To believe in Jack. "He's real, Ash. But the Boogeyman killed him. He came back, but he's been scary ever since. He's scaring me."
"You're scaring me."
He let go of her and withdrew to the other side of the couch. The last thing he wanted was to scare anyone. "I'm sorry..."
"You're going to sleep. Somehow, you're going to sleep. You're delirious."
He didn't bother arguing with her. He would just sound even crazier.
He found Jack standing in the center of the frozen lake again. The nightmare was getting so familiar that he knew right away that this wasn't real. He still took a step onto the ice, even knowing what would happen. There was nothing else he could do. It cracked under his feet. He watched again as his dearest friend's playful look turned to one of accusation. He watched the corruption spread, watched him freeze, watched as he shattered. But this time, the dream didn't end.
The ice shards gathered together again, reformed into a more sinister version of Jack Frost. The reborn spirit smiled, his eyes dead. "This is your fault," he said. "Never forget that. I would have been fine without you."
It took Jamie a long time to calm down enough to get up without falling. He stumbled into the hallway. He needed this to be over. Now. He peeked into Sophie's room. She was still sleeping peacefully, no longer bothered by nightmares. He envied her. Giving up was tempting. The Guardians would learn of this, sooner or later. They would take care of Jack. This was more than he could handle.
But even if the frequent nightmares had somewhat twisted his memories of the events, he still remembered Jack's last words. "Jamie... you... have to... keep believing." He couldn't give up now. Jack wasn't past saving. He was sure of that. He left the house without bothering to pull on his shoes or anything warmer than the thin cotton pants and threadbare T-shirt he was wearing. It wasn't even chilly. Winter was over, even if the winter spirit remained.
He found Jack standing in the center of the frozen lake. The ice cracked under his feet when he ventured on it. He wondered if he was awake or if that was another nightmare. Jack turned around and smiled. Jamie shivered. This was not the old Jack.
"What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
"I came to talk to you."
"I'm listening"
The ice creaked with every step he took. Jamie shuffled forward, one inch at a time, until he reached the Guardian. Jack cocked his head to the side, the smile still on his lips. Jamie placed both hands on his shoulder and leaned down to look him in the eyes. He tried to find some trace of his old friend there, but there was nothing.
"Please come back."
"I already did. I'm here."
"No. You're not. Not really. Not yet." He wrapped his arms around Jack, ignoring how tense he was. "I still believe in you. Like you told me to. I believe in you. Please come back."
Silence stretched when he finished talking. He could only hope that whatever shred of his friend remained had heard him, was trying to claw it's way back to the surface. He could hope. That was all he had left.
"I don't need you to believe in me."
He gasped when he felt the pain. He stumbled back several step, pressing his hand against his side, shocked to feel the warm blood. Jack grinned. Blood covered his blackened, claw-like fingers. They returned to their normal appearance fast enough that he wondered if he had hallucinated the change, but the blood remained.
"J-Jack–"
His vision faded. He crashed on the ice. Cracks spreaded all around him and he didn't dare move. At the same time, he wanted to let the lake swallow him. Anything was better than looking at that grin again.
"You didn't really think I was done with you, were you?"
Jamie felt a chill and it was only partly due to blood loss and the ice he lay on. He twisted around to look at Pitch, standing safely on the lake's edge. The Boogeyman's eyes glinted in satisfaction.
"Pitch... what did you do to Jack?"
It wasn't Pitch that answered him.
"You did this to me."
"This is your fault. Never forget that. He would have been fine without you." Jamie shivered, pressing his forehead against the ice. "I'm so sorry."
"I'm afraid it's a bit late to be sorry, little Jamie," Pitch said. "But I should thank you. Things turned out for the best, after all. For me."
Pitch laughed. Jamie clenched his fists and glared at the Boogeyman.
"He tried to give you a chance you didn't deserve."
Pitch sneered and glared back. His sneer turned into a taunt grin and he looked at Jack.
"We've wasted enough time with that overgrown child. Finish him, we have other things to do."
The ice cracked even more as Jamie shifted to look at Jack again.
"Jack, please don't do this. You don't have to. I believe in you. Please come back."
He heard even more cracks form farther away. He expected the ice to give way any moment now. He wished it did so right now. Jack grinned.
"I'd say I'm sorry, but... I'm not."
"This is a nightmare..." Jamie dearly wanted to believe that, no matter how much the pain in his side was reminding him that it wasn't.
"Nightmares are real, little Jamie," Pitch said. "And they can hurt you."
Jack raised the staff. For the first time since the winter spirit came back to life, Jamie saw glowing frost spread along its length. The small part of Jamie that had been hoping that this was just one of Pitch's trick, that this wasn't the real Jack, died. He squeezed his eyes shut. Cold erupted all around him.
I swear things are going to start looking up soon. Also, next chapter will be the first of this arc from Jack's point of view. Finally.
