Thanatophobia (H2OVanoss)

Chapter 18

"You were possessed."

"Um, what?"

This was not what he was expecting, but at this point he figured nothing could get too much weirder. Luke decided to elaborate.

"Do you remember when we were playing Depth and you got up to get drinks?"

  He waited until Jonathan nodded to continue.

  "You passed out. We freaked out and ended up putting you in your bed for the night; you still hadn't woken up. In the morning I heard all this noise coming from the kitchen, and then...you were gone. There was blood on the wall, your bike was gone, and everything was trashed."

  He took a moment to calm down, but Jonathan was more restless than he was. He was shaking slightly, so many emotions running through him all at the same time.

  He flinched back when Evan suddenly jumped next to him and whipped his head around.

  "I can't believe I didn't think about that! Jon, are you injured???"

  Jonathan shook his head. He vaguely registered Evan's use of his name, rather than the nickname he was called by so warmly, but put it off in his mind to shift slightly. He didn't feel any pain.

"I'm fine. So what happened after that?  Why am I in Canada?"

  "We don't know."

Lui was staring at him thoughtfully, his head supported by his hand and bent arm. He was interested to figure out what Jonathan's take was in all of this.

  "It's been a little over a week. You suddenly turned up at Evan's, but something was different about you."

"Different?"

"Maybe it's better if Evan explains it..."

He cast a sidelong glance at Evan, who looked as though he was having flashbacks from Vietnam.

"You were like a completely different person. I can hardly explain it, you acted so strangely. And...you kinda got sort of aggressive, and I ended up knocking you out. Today you woke up, and you know the rest."

"So let me get this straight. I passed out, went on a rampage, somehow biked to Canada, assaulted you, and got knocked out without even knowing it?"

His disbelief was evident in his tone but strangely held no sarcasm like someone in his situation would normally talk with. Then again, who else would be in this situation?

Apparently, something he had said had caused more confusion, because everyone in the call was giving him weird looks and seeming to ponder something.

"So you don't remember?"

He shook his head. Had they expected him to? It didn't make sense to either party.

"I don't get it, has something like this ever happened before, even if it was on a smaller scale?"

Once again he shook his head, and watched as Nogla's eyebrows furrowed. As said by Sherlock Holmes,Jonathan thought, 'Something is amiss'.

There was something horribly wrong with this picture, as though their lives were a piece of forged artwork hat shouldn't even exist in the first place. Strange actions, changes in personality, missing memories, it all seemed like something otherworldly.

No one really knew what to do, they had all hoped something would happen after Jonathan woke up that would somehow lead them to a course of action. Instead, they were once again at a standstill.

"So...am I going back home?"

Jonathan's question, so simply spoken, was a good one. Should Jonathan go back to North Carolina? Sure, he belonged there, with Luke, with his brother, but what about their mystery?

They couldn't go on as though nothing had ever happened, even though that would probably be the best thing to do.

For a reason unknown to them, Jonathan, or rather his alter ego, had left Carolina to seek out Evan.

Something in the air seemed to be telling them to solve the mystery, to find more clues. It had to be done.

"Actually..."

It was Luke who made up his mind first.

"I think you should stay with Evan. Maybe something will happen. As much as I miss you, there's something telling me that we should let everything play out."

Reluctant as he was, Jonathan agreed deeply within himself. For some reason, it just felt right. He nodded.

"I trust you. As long as Evan is okay with it."

He once again turned to the side. Evan had a peculiar look on his face, as though he felt guilty for being content with something that he shouldn't be experiencing at all.

"Okay."

The words were spoken oddly, but with them the tone of their conversation somehow was uplifted into something much lighter, and the tension was eased out once again.

They had decided on what to do, and had left their fates to destiny. Only time could tell what would happen, and they would sit along for the ride.