Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Jane Doe ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

Ryo jerked awake to a loud crash. He glanced over at his alarm clock and saw that it was two thirty in the morning. He lay there for a minute, wondering where the crash came from.

 

He was just about to fall asleep again when a thud reached his ears, followed by a sniffling sound. Concerned, he got up to investigate.

 

Listening to the sniffling, he realized that it was coming from Bikky's room, which was now Jane's for the time being. Ryo's eyes widened in the darkness as he sprinted down the hall and threw open the bedroom door.

 

He flipped the light switch and was momentarily blinded by the sudden brightness, but as his eyes adjusted, he could tell that there was no one in the bed. The sheets were tangled into a knot at the foot of the bed and the lamp on the nightstand had been knocked over.

 

Ryo looked around, trying to find the source of what he now knew was sobbing. He saw Jane, backed into a corner of the room, her eyes wide with terror and shaking uncontrollably. Tears ran down her cheeks as her sobs grew louder.

 

“Jane!” Ryo called, but the woman didn't so much as twitch. He moved closer, but stopped when she suddenly went stock still and her frightened eyes slid towards him. If possible, Jane tried to back further into the corner.

 

“Jane, it's okay, it's me, Ryo. I'm not going to hurt you. Calm down, please. It's okay, you're okay, I'm here.”

 

As he spoke, Ryo watched Jane's eyes close tightly. Her jaw clenched and she clamped her hands over her ears.

 

“Jane, please…”

 

She was stiff as a board, as if moving or seeing or hearing anything would doom her to whatever hell she thought she was at the edge of.

 

“Jane,” Ryo tried again, but silenced himself as her sobs reached a level of piteousness that was hard for Ryo to fathom.

 

He did the only thing he felt he could do.

 

He called Dee.

 

In the ten minutes between his call and Dee's arrival, Jane had not left the corner. Her sobs quieted a little, but she still shook like a proverbial leaf.

 

“What happened?” Dee asked as he walked in.

 

Ryo rubbed his eyes tiredly. “About two thirty, I heard a crash. I came to investigate, and I found her like that. I tried to snap her out of it, but she got worse. That's when I called you. She's a little better now, but something really screwed her up.”

 

“Nightmare, maybe?”

 

“Probably. Lord knows what she's been through. What should we do?”

 

Dee looked thoughtfully at the cowering figure in the corner. “Wait it out.”

 

“I was afraid of that.”

 

*

Darkness. White noise. Choking smoke. A hand, reaching. She screamed.

 

*

Dee and Ryo both flinched out of a light doze at a scream from Jane. Years of disuse had made her voice hoarse, but the scream was piercing nonetheless.

 

“Jane!”

 

*

A voice. Who was Jane? There was someone else in this hell? She searched. No one. Alone, always alone.

 

“Burn it down.”

 

Him. His voice slid over her mind like oil, dark and malevolent. Always him in this hell. Always alone with him. Always…always…always…

 

*

 

The men watched, in fascinated horror, as Jane's mouth moved and whispered “always”.

 

“This is creepy. We need to do something,” Dee said.

 

“Cold water?” Ryo asked, only half joking. He was tired, and a little scared.

 

Dee looked at him, incredulous. “That's something I would say.” He looked back to Jane and slowly got up and moved into what he hoped was her line of sight.

 

“Jane, come back.”

 

*

 

Come back? To where? Oh, God, he was moving. Coming for her, again. Always coming for her.

 

She coughed; the hell fire below was burning, sending its foul smoke into her lungs. Run.

 

*

“Dee, stop!” Ryo called as Jane tensed and began to push herself up off the floor.

 

“Shit,” Dee said. “Jane, listen. Listen to me. It's Dee; I'm your friend, remember? Whatever you see isn't real. Just listen to my voice, Jane. I'm not going to hurt you. Neither is Ryo. Listen, Jane. Hear my voice, focus on that. Jane, you have to listen to me-“

 

He was abruptly cut off by the raspy-yet-keening wail that Jane released.

 

“Ryo!” he shouted, “Knock her out or something!”

 

Ryo looked around, almost wanting to cry himself after hearing Jane.

 

*

 

Closer, closer, closer. Always closer. The hand reached again. Pain, God, he was killing her. His hand tightened around her neck. She cried out in abject fear, but it was too late.

 

More pain. No breath. Breathe, breathe, breathe.

 

“Burn it down.”

 

Heat, suffocating heat. Paralyzing smoke. More heat, more pain.

 

A light. Heaven? Broken, bloody fingers scrabbling against the splintering, burning wood.

 

All broken. Shattered soul.

 

Falling…falling…

 

“Someone kill me.”

 

Darkness.

 

*

 

Ryo's mouth opened into a shocked “o”. “Did she just…?”

 

Dee ran and caught the woman as she pitched forward, finally slipping into unconsciousness. Settling her gently on the bed, he looked up at Ryo's frightened face. “Yeah.”

 

*

 

Ryo sat on his bed, a mug of tea in his hands. Dee had persuaded him to call in for his shift tomorrow, but Dee was the one doing the calling. Ryo didn't think he could do much of anything right now. Even holding the mug was a challenge. His mind kept wandering, replaying Jane's breakdown. She was asleep or unconscious, but they had left the door open and the bedroom light on.

 

The bed sagged as Dee sat down. “I'm staying here until I know everything's gonna be okay,” he said, his tone brooking no argument.

 

“All right.”

 

Dee looked at Ryo searchingly for a moment. “You wanna talk? I doubt either one of us are gonna be able to sleep.”

 

Ryo set his mug on the nightstand and looked at his hands. “Why? I couldn't help her. I just watched as she crumbled. Why…?”

 

Dee threw an arm across Ryo's shoulders. “Hey. You did what you could. So did I. She's a strong woman; she'll make it.”

 

“She wants to die, Dee,” Ryo whispered, on the verge of tears.

 

“Please don't cry, Ryo. You know I can't handle that,” Dee begged, allowing some playfulness to creep into his voice. “Seriously, though, I don't think that's what she meant.”

 

Ryo sniffed. “What did she mean then?”

 

Dee frowned thoughtfully. “Whatever she thought she was seeing, whatever nightmare she was living through, she wanted it to end. Maybe she thought death was her only escape, but that was from the dream world. You know as well as I do that Jane wants to stay alive, or she wouldn't have struggled to get to the precinct the first night we met.”

 

Ryo blinked at Dee. “I think that may have been the most coherent set of sentences I've ever heard you put together.”

 

“Hey, that's not fair! I'll have you know that I'm pretty suave when I want to be.”

 

“Which is never.”

 

“In my head. When I think of you.”

 

Ryo blushed furiously and ducked his head.

 

“You're cute when you blush. Anyone ever tell you that?”

 

“Dee…” Ryo breathed.

 

“Don't worry, I'm not planning anything `frisky'. Let's just try to get some rest, okay?” Dee said, and laid them both down on the bed.

 

“Dee…?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Thank you,” Ryo said, and kissed Dee quickly on the lips.

 

“Anything for you, cutie.”

 

 

DarkHorse says: holy shit. You see what happens when I wait two years to update a fic? You get this muthafuckin' piece of work. Anyone who can guess what happened to Jane in her dream gets my respect. For some reason, watching “Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children” five times in five days inspired me to write FAKE fanfiction. Great movie to get the creative juices flowing, especially if the juice tastes like angst.

 

I won't make any guarantees, but keep on the look out for more updates. And faster than a chapter every two years.