1 Month Later
There was that eerie feeling again. Jason had been feeling he was being watched ever since he got out of the store. Every time he looked over his shoulder, nothing was there but darkness, which creeped him out further. Earlier he had tried hiding in a corner to see if he could spot whoever was following him. He had no such luck. Sometime it went away, other times something would clang and the feeling would come back.
Jason clutched his grocery bags tighter, and picked up his pace a little. He was almost home. It was just a block away. However, the closer he got to his apartment, the bigger that pit-of-the-stomach feeling got. It wasn’t soon until a man jumped in front of him, startling Jason half to death and causing him to drop the bags. Groceries spilled everywhere and many of the fruits rolled down the hill. He couldn’t make out who the man was, but he knew this was the man who was following him.
“Hello Jason, my special, little thing.” The man crossed his arms.
“How do you—”
“That’s not important right now. What is important, is that I’ve got your massage. Meet me in the building in the corner of 15th. You know the one: Brown bricked, and old as the city itself.” Jason nodded, still a bit confused. “Come by as soon as you can.”
He didn’t know why he felt like he needed to go. He didn’t know he sent out a message in the first place. Nothing about the man said “safe,” but Jason decided if he got in trouble, he could always just run out of there. He was good with stairs.
By the time Jason had dropped off the rest of his groceries at home, and got to his destination, the sun was already setting behind the buildings, casting a shadow over the buildings even with daylight still in the sky. Jason entered the building and felt an immediate drop in the temperature. He let out a shaking breath, and pulled his jacket closer. The man never specified which floor, but all the doors were open. Jason figured he could just keep going up until he spots someone.
The entire building was dirtied and littered with trash, and had graffiti everywhere Jason looked. Three floors later and he got that eerie feeling again. A door creaked open behind him, and he walked in that room. It was empty except for a metal bed and dirty mattress in the corner. When he turned to walk out, the man from before appeared. Jason stumbled back at the surprise appearance of the man. He could see more clearly who he was, and he was tall, and in a business suit.
The man smiled down at Jason, and he scrambled up and away from the man. Then a stench hit him, like rotting meat mixed with blood. “Kill him.” Jason looked around, and some men were coming out the floor. The ones that were already up, ran to attack him. Jason felt his body falling the floor and landed on the cement with a thud. Then he was picked up again and his head slammed against the cement wall. The last thing he saw was another man running in tackling the one in the business suit.
Jason woke up with a gasp of air. He breathed heavily, trying to grab any air his lungs could hold. Then the pain in his head hit him and he groaned. When Jason tried to turn on his side, he nearly fell off, catching himself in time. He looked around, rubbing his eyes. Everything was blurry, and spots of various colors clouded his vision. Where was he? On a bed. In an empty room. Slowly the spots started to fade away, and he noticed it was in an empty, dirty room. Next, he inspected his body. From what he could tell, there were bite marks all over him, most of them still raw and bleeding. “What the hell?”
Then Jason noticed a blurry figure sitting on the floor, watching him.
“Umm…” Jason sat up, but a shot of pain ran through his spin to his head. He clutched his head, and lied back down. He felt gauze wrapped around his head, under his hair.
“You can see me?” Jason nodded, head still pounding. The man nodded to himself. Eyes wide as the sun. “Your head got hit pretty hard before I came in.” The man got up and walk over to him. Jason opened his eyes to see the figure hovering over. “My name is Ezra.”
“I’m…Jason…”
The man named Ezra laughed. “Your head must have been hit pretty hard, huh? You should definitely stay down for a while.” The other man took a spot on the floor next to the bed.
Jason furrowed his eyebrows, squinting at him. Then out the window. The blurriness was still there, but from what he could tell, it was pitch black outside. “Where are we?”
Ezra looked at him, confused. “Don’t you remember?” Jason looked up at the ceiling. He didn’t. He didn’t even know how he got here, or why his head was pounding in his ears with gauze wrapped around it.
“No.” Jason turned to Ezra again.
“You really don’t remember? You came here because Henry asked you to.”
“Who?”
“Henry. The bad guy?” Now it came to him. Jason remembered being stalked and then asked to come to the building. It was a trap, and the others attacked him.
“Oh. How long was I out?” Ezra looked at his watch. Jason noticed his watch on the inside of his wrist, like those weird people did, instead of the outside.
“Eh, give or take, about an hour.” Jason nodded, and looked up at the ceiling again. He could hear the wind beating against the window, and the creaks in the building. He looked at the floor, and could see some blurry blood splatters.
“So. Why did you save me? How did you get here?” Jason looked back at the other man. He shrugged.
“I was only tracking Henry. He’s a bad apple, of sorts.”
“What did he want with me, then?”
“I don’t know, I didn’t get here in time.” Ezra shrugged, and got up. He dusted off the dirt from his hands and bottom, then walked to the window.
Jason thought for a moment. “I’ve never met him before. At least, I don’t think.” Ezra turned around, narrowed eyes pointed at him.
“But he knows who you are.” Slowly, Ezra walked to the bed again. “Are you sure you’ve never seen him before?”
Jason nodded, and it was silent for a while. “I think I lost my memory.”
“What?”
Jason nodded again. “You said I went to this building willingly, because of that man.”
Ezra nodded. “Yeah, but…”
“But based on what you said, all I remember is being stalked by him, and then him asking to come here. I did, and now I have a headache.” Ezra stood there, staring. “When I try to think of anything before that, I draw a blank,” Jason turned to the man.
Ezra sighed, and began pacing the room. He mumbled something about “putting a dent on his probation,” and rubbed his forehead. Jason watched as the man walked around thinking.
“Fuck it. I guess you’re coming with me.”
“What? But I don’t even know you!” Jason sat up in a rush, and his headache came back. Instead of lying back down, he leaned against the wall. The spots appeared again, blocking most of his vision. Jason squeezed his eyes shut, and began breathing heavily.
“Well, where are you gonna go? Do you even remember where your house is?” Jason stood quiet. “Exactly what I thought.” Ezra began pacing the room again.
Jason peeked his eyes open, and the spots were gone again. All he could do was stare out the window, trying to get his vision back to normal. Last time he followed someone strange it led him here.
“If you go with me, you might get your memories back along the way.” Ezra stood by the window, biting his thumbnail.
“Where are you going?”
“Miami.”
“But that’s on the other side of the country!”
“I know!” Jason shrunk back a little, surprised by the outburst, and twiddled with his toes. “Listen, there’ll stops along the way. We could do things that’ll get your memories back.”
“Why can’t you just drop me off at a hospital?”
“I hate hospitals. We’re not going there.” Jason found it interesting, but didn’t question it. “So what’s it going to be?”
Jason nodded. “I’ll go. Guess I have no choice.” He felt like a laugh would be appropriate here, but instead let out a grimace.
“Well, that settles it. Come on,” Jason heard Ezra’s footsteps leave, but come back. “Can you get up?” Jason shook his head gently, inching off the bed. Jason heard the footsteps become closer and arms link around him. The world spun as he was hoisted on to his feet. His headache pounded against his skull, and he nearly toppled over. Ezra let Jason lean on him as they went through the building, taking extra care with steps. When they got outside, Jason was led to a car in front. The moment he sat down he felt an overwhelming wash of relief.
“Wait! What about clothes?”
The door opened next to Jason, and Ezra climbed in. “What about them?”
“Well, I don’t have any other clothes with me right now. At least, I don’t think so.”
“I have some extras in the back. You can use those until we get you some.” Ezra started the car, and they drove off.
**
“We’re stopping in Pheonix for now.” Jason looked at the clock. It was midnight. He yawned, realizing how tired he was, and they both got out. Jason stumbled a bit, which caused Ezra to hold him up by the shoulders. The entire road trip Jason was trying to remember things, but all it did was confirm that he forgot his memories. The two checked in to a motel off the highway, garnering a look from the lady at the front desk.
That night, Jason had a nightmare. A man, whom Jason could feel evil radiating from, captured him. Jason was strapped in a chair, in some facility, and was forced to watch the man as the world was destroyed. The man merely stood at the control panel, while meteors fell from the sky in front of them, laughing like a maniac. He told Jason that he would never win, and they would never find him. The man tipped his chair, and Jason woke up falling off his bed.
He landed face first, and when he looked up, Ezra was standing over him, eyebrow raised. Jason groaned, and rubbed his head.
“I…I had a nightmare. Some guy… he was trying to destroy the world?” Ezra helped Jason up, first brushing him off, and then fixing his hair.
“What did he look like?”
Jason was dumbstruck. He knew he had a dream, but couldn’t remember the details. Everything was fuzzy, and although he remembers a lot of white, he felt it was all covered in black. Like someone had covered his head in black cloth. Jason shook his head. “I don’t remember. But I do remember feeling something awful about him.”
Ezra nodded. Jason looked back at him, and he was holding a wet washcloth. “Close your eyes.” Before he could protest, the washcloth was smothered all over his face. “That would be Henry. He’s the one we’re after.”
Ezra tossed the washcloth in the sink, and went back to sorting through the duffle bag. Jason watched, curiosity getting the better of him. He was tossed a plain blue shirt and jeans. “What?”
“We’re about the same size, right?” Ezra turned around, glancing over Jason, before answering his own question with a nod. “Eh. Might be a little big on you.” Jason was beginning to feel safe with him around. He felt like he could trust him.
“Trust,” Jason mumbled.
Ezra turned around again. “Excuse me?”
“Trust.” It was silence for a moment, with Jason staring at the floor, holding the clothes. “I just remembered. A memory.” Jason looked at Ezra, and smiled.
“Well?” Ezra stood up, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“A couple of years ago, me and a group of friends were taking a road trip to Los Angeles. I think to celebrate something, I don’t remember. We left with 500, and came back with an extra fifty.” Jason smiled softly at the ground before looking back up at Ezra. “Trust.”
Ezra smiled, and started changing.
When everything was packed up, and they were ready to leave, they were met with people. Well, they didn’t look like people. They smelled rotten, and looked rotten too. It smelled familiar to Jason. The things were also covered in dirt, and bits were hanging off.
“Run,” was all Ezra said before he grabbed Jason’s hand and ran through the horde. They couldn’t escape, and the “people” pushed them back. Jason tripped and fell. Then he felt his body being dragged across the pavement. He heard fighting sounds, but mostly splatters. Jason began to panic, and started trying to resist. It was no use, though. He felt his dream was becoming real.
Jason took a closer look at who as dragging him, and immediately felt sick to his stomach. The stench and visuals were overwhelming, and if Ezra didn’t slam the man’s head into the brick wall at that moment, Jason was sure he would have passed out. He felt a wave of relief passing over him the moment he felt Ezra helping him. He tried to pass a grateful look to him, but Ezra’s eyes were darting everywhere, as he brushed gravel and dirt off of his back.
“Let’s go before more come. God only knows where they could pop up.” They both hopped in the car, and Jason could have sworn that if Ezra wasn’t so good, they would have gotten a speeding ticket before they even hit the highway.
“Listen. Uh, thanks. Back there. For saving me.” Jason looked over at Ezra. The man smiled, eyes still on the road. “You, um. You fight nice.” Ezra burst out laughing, and pat Jason on the shoulder. He didn’t say anything.
Half an hour later, Jason spoke up again. “It’s been bugging me for a while now, but, who were those guys? The ones who attacked us?”
“Dear old Henry is raising the dead.”
“So, they’re like zombies?”
“Is that what your kind call them?” Ezra glanced as Jason, catching his confused look. “In a way, yes, I supposed they are.”
“But, why?”
Ezra shrugged. “That’s what I intend to find out.”
**
Three hours later, Ezra spoke up again. “We’re heading to Caddo Bay. In Texas. Before we left, I was able to grab some info. There’s a base there that might be able to tell what Henry’s doing.” However, Jason didn’t hear him, since he was asleep.
Ezra pried his eyes off the road for a moment to nudge the other man. He didn’t stir. Ezra glanced up, before looking down to nudge him again. That’s when a loud horn blew. Ezra swerved, and ran off the road and into the dirt. Jason was up, and clinging to his seatbelt.
“What the hell just happened?” Jason’s heart was still pumping in his ears. He let go of the seatbelt to unbuckle himself, and he found his entire body was shaking. Ezra coughed, and opened the door, trying to get out. But he couldn’t. Ezra struggled a bit until he heard a click, and the seatbelt whacked him on the side of the head.
“Some idiot almost crashed into us,” Ezra began walking around the car, making sure there were no dents or anything. He glanced over at Jason, who was stretching and yawning. “Well, the car’s okay.”
“Oh, you check the car, but not me?”
Ezra sighed, looking a little guilty. “Sorry.” He cleared his throat. “Get back in, we’re halfway there.
**
“I need to see someone first.” Ezra said as he pulled into a neighborhood. The entire place looked dreadful to Jason, and the houses looked more like large shacks. A few minutes later, the car pulled into the driveway.
It took a moment for the door to answer. The lady stared at him, not even glancing at Ezra. “U-um. Hello.” Jason glanced at the other, seeing him smile, before looking back at the woman who answered the door.
“Ask about Paul. Is Paul here?” Jason repeated his question, and the lady’s face fell.
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t quite catch your name?”
“Ezra. Tell her Ezra.” The other whispered. Jason nodded, following his instructions.
The lady nodded. “Why don’t you come in for a second?” The woman opened the door wider, and stepped aside. Inside was exactly what Jason would expect from a large shack-house. Clutter, mismatched furniture, and dirt. “Please, sit.”
They were directed to some couches, one of them being clawed and ripped by some animal.
“Hun?” A male called out from the back. “Who is it?” The woman got up, and when to the back of the house. There were whispers, their voices slowly rising with each sentence. From what Jason could tell, the male was angry. Ezra looked confused, with his leg bouncing, and hands fidgeting. Finally the woman came back, and sat across from them. The male who called out earlier still hadn’t shown himself.
“I’m Paul’s mom. He...” The woman stopped for a moment. Her shoulders shook, and Jason could have sworn he saw a teardrop land on her hands. Her next words came out hoarse and cracked. “He died. Three months ago.”
Ezra clenched the end of his shirt, and scrunched up his face, confused. He began rapidly blinking, but Jason knew he was trying to keep himself from crying. “Me and my husband have been coming here when we could, to pack up his things.” Jason looked around, and finally noticed the boxes. A few here and there, but not in a number that would garner immediate interest.
There was only the sound of the clock ticking until Ezra asked “Where?” Jason repeated the question.
**
Not a cloud in the sky, and the sun burned on their necks. Jason towered over Ezra awkwardly as the other stared at the headstone. There were flowers of vary degree in size and colour on the ground. Ezra sat on the grass, clenching an angel statuette he bought before they came here.
“I miss him.” Jason was taken aback by the sudden words, and took him a moment to process it. Ezra was still slumped over on the grass, staring at the headstone.
“I’m sorry.” Jason knew those words meant nothing, but he couldn’t stop himself from saying it.
“What could you have done?” Ezra mumbled. The man looked down at the angel statuette again, clenching it so his knuckles turned white. For a while, only they only heard sounds of cicadas and birds. Then, a face flashed in Jason’s mind. He didn’t know who he was, but it felt oddly familiar. Warm, almost.
They stayed in silence for a while. At one point, Ezra placed the angel statuette in front of the grave. The man sighed, and pat the spot next to him.
“Did you know I’m on probation?” Jason nodded. “Do you know how I got on probation?”
“No.” Jason took the spot next to him and stretched out his legs on the grass.
“I saved him.” Jason looked at the other man, who refused to look at him. “It was the middle of the night, probably about 3 AM, and his heart wasn’t responding.”
Ezra sighed, and began pulling out the grass. Jason watched silently.
“And?”
Ezra tossed the loosened grass away, and leaned back. “And…I forced him to get back in his body.”
Ezra was staring up at the sky, and Jason was finally able to see how much in pain he was. “And of course, those bastards didn’t like that I intervened, and punished me. Said my wait time’s gonna be a little longer than needed, whatever the hell that means.”
Ezra didn’t feel like such a stranger anymore to Jason. “Who?”
Ezra glanced at Jason, and shook his head. “I’ll tell you later. Maybe.” Ezra dusted off his hands, and then stood up. Then helped Jason up, and dusted the rest of himself off. “For now, I need to teach you how to fight.”
“What? Why?” Jason looked around. “Not here, right?”
Ezra laughed. “Of course not, no. I’ll show you some moves once we find a motel. You need to protect yourself, just in case.”
The rest of the day, Ezra spent time training Jason. However by the time nightfall came, Jason was still as horrible as he was when he started. The next day, they got in the car, with Jason still wearing the same clothes from yesterday, and headed to Caddo Bay. They were still in the car when Ezra mentioned it.
“I’m an angel.”
Jason’s head jerked to look at Ezra. “What?”
“Just figured you should know.” Ezra refused to look at Jason, who was so obviously confused.
“I don’t believe you.” Ezra snorted and a flash of transparent wings appeared. If Jason blinked he would have missed it. “I don’t believe it. You are an angel. How?”
“Angel is actually just a filler title in case I’m questioned. I’m more of a special coma ghost on a mission. A spirit messenger.” Ezra glanced at Jason. “I took the jobs, since I’m clearly taking a while for recovery, or whatever. Actually, I should have been in my body by now, but the assholes up there won’t let me in until I catch Henry.”
“Who are ‘they’?”
“The assholes? A bunch of snooty, tired, stuck ups, with nothing better to do.”
“Is Henry an angel too?”
Ezra nodded. “Yep. A runaway angel. Bet he and Satan would be best buddies.”
Jason sat back, trying to make sense of the new information. “Couldn’t God just…y’know, zap him, or something?”
Ezra burst out laughing. “I’m sure he could, but I’ve been told he’s on a little break, so he’s not doing shit.”
An hour later, Jason was still trying to think about it all, and asking questions. “So then what about death? Can angels die?”
“Everything can die. You just need a special gun to do it”
“God can die? I thought he was immortal?”
Ezra smiled. “So I’ve been told.”
“But then, what about you?”
“What about me?”
“What happens when you die?”
Ezra was silent for a moment, before shrugging. Jason had a feeling he knew, he just didn’t want to say.
“Okay, so what about this special gun?”
“A-ha! That’s what I’ve been meaning to tell you! The gun we need, it’s in a facility in Caddo Bay. That’s why we’re heading there.”
I honestly have no idea where I was going with this. Unlikely to ever be finished.