Jace X vs. Project X

Chapter 5: Poltergeists of the Past

     He walked forward, but I couldn't move an inch. I watched him die, I saw his coffin drop into the earth, and I know he was in it when it was buried, so how was it he was able to walk in front of me? How was he able to match my power at all when he was dead? I blinked and I was sideways, the whole world turning and I couldn't even register the pain surging through my head. I felt a drop of water hit me and I blinked, snapping back to reality. The pain hit me and I was on the ground; I didn't even realize he knocked me onto the ground. I sat up as rain began to pour from the sky.

     "It's no fun to fight you when you don't even try to fight back Jace!" Jordan shouted. Just the sound of his voice had me internally trembling, but I could barely move.

     "You... You died... I saw you die," I said, barely above a whisper. I closed my eyes and shook my head, looking back to see if this was just a figment of my imagination. No, he was real and he as there.

     "Don't sound so shocked, Jace. After all, you can never really leave me behind," He said as he hurled his fist into my stomach. The padding of his glove added to the power as I fell t my knee. He picked up my chin and looked down at me, only to strike me in the jaw. I laid on the floor, feeling a drop of blood trail down my cheek and mixing with the rain that hit my face. Jordan grabbed the mask from the ground and wiped the front of it clear from the rainwater, then strapped it back onto his face. "This is too easy, and you won't truly suffer like this."

     I slowly sat up and I saw him turn to leave. I couldn't even stand up to run after him, so I sat on my knees as the rain poured down. In that instance when he was gone and I felt completely alone, I slammed my fists into the ground and screamed as loud as my lungs would allow. Anger, guilt, regret, all flooding me as I screamed until my voice hurt. I wasn't even sure if the water falling to the floor near the cracks in the ground and my hands were raindrops or my own tears falling. Hell, it didn't even register in my head that I was actually crying, something I hadn't done in so long.

     "Jace...?" I heard a voice quietly call out, disrupting the silence. I turned slowly to see Amaya standing right beside me.

     "He was right there... In my arms, taking his last breaths... And I watched him die... I mourned his death and I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror... Now he's here, and alive???" I asked, more to myself than her. "J... J..." I couldn't say his name any more, I couldn't force it out if I wanted to. I just wanted to scream until all the air in my lungs was gone, cry until my eyes burned, and punch something until my fists were raw and bloody. As the rain poured down, I stood up and slowly made my way to the car, sitting in the driver's seat for a silent minute, my mind going blank as I couldn't even think straight.

     I didn't realize how much time had passed until I blinked and I was already in my room, unaware that I even left the pier. The sun shined through my window and I laid on my bed until the rays hit my eyes. I sat up and looked at my hands, seeing whatever cuts I had from punching the ground had already healed up. I walked to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror, then looked away as I felt like it was just the day of Jordan's funeral all over again.

     I showered and got dressed, but I didn't have a mission, or a lead to Project X. Amaya had asked me, "What's the plan for today?" But I didn't have an answer. I just got in the car and she followed, not entirely sure why. "You've been scary quiet, Jace. What exactly are we doing?" I didn't know what to tell her, but a thought finally came to my head. I turned left at the intersection we were at and I finally had at least something to do.

     I pulled up to the corner of a suburban street and I got out of the car. I didn't tell Amaya anything as I went over to the trunk and opening it up. I noted the date and I grabbed a package along with a small toy and I walked down the street.

     "Jace, seriously, what are we doing?" Amaya asked once more, annoyed that she had to ask so many times. I let out a sigh and looked at her.

     "I'm visiting some people who's lives I've ruined," I answered as I walked up to the door. My hand hovered in front of the doorbell and I closed my fist. I sighed again and put the package and toy on the welcome mat and went to ring the doorbell. Amaya's hand stopped me before I touched it. I looked at her and I could tell she wanted a more specific answer. I pulled her over and told her to look through the window. There was a small child playing in the room with building blocks and some cars, while his parents were watching him with sad eyes and smiles on their faces.

     "They look happy to me," Amaya said as she watched them. "What exactly did you do to them?" She asked me.

     "The parents, I knew them when I was younger. They were my high school friends," I told her. "Jade and Jacob, their names." I sighed as I looked at them. "I exposed them to a life where our best friends were murdered... by me." I watched the child. "That's the kid they swore to look after when I had left this city the first time. It's Dawn's son." I told Amaya and she went wide eyed.

     "So... that kid is supposed to be your son?" She asked, and the sting in my heart ached. "He doesn't look like you much, did he take after his mother?"

     "Wouldn't know... it's not my kid," I told her and she looked back at me. "When I got my powers, I disappeared for a long time. She had gotten with my best friend... that boy is Dawn's and Jordan's son. I murdered Jordan in an accident from my jealousy and rage. And while fighting another ex friend, I accidentally killed Dawn." I walked back to the front door and said nothing as my hand shook. Amaya took my hand in hers and tried to comfort me, but I couldn't help but think of how different things would be if I had just kept my cool and could accept that Dawn had chosen Jordan instead. When I think back on it, I just seem stupid and I feel like the villain.

     "Is it hard to see them?" Amaya asked me as we stood at the front door. I just nodded and looked at the ground. 

     "And it's not like I can just knock on the door and stand here to tell them I'm sorry for what I've done. After all, they all think I'm dead too. Hell, I have a tombstone in the cemetery." After hearing this, the two of us were quiet for a moment. Amaya pulled me away from the door and hid me behind the gate as she rushed back to the door to hit the doorbell, hiding from sight with me as the door opened. As Jacob looked around to look for who was the one who rang the doorbell, Amaya and I stayed hidden until the door closed. We left a bit later once we knew he wasn't looking and I got back to the car.

     "Any other stops?" Amaya asked me and I nodded as I drove back onto the highway. There was in fact one more stop I had to make. I had to visit an old friend. As we drove, we left the city limits and made it to that offsite facility I had Rathburn and Darce locked in. I walked past every cell and pounded my fist against Rathburn's door.

     "Password?" He asked, but I didn't have time for this. I pried the door open and I let my fists do the talking for a moment as my bare knuckles bounced off Rathburn's skull.

     "Why the hell is Jordan alive?!?!" I shouted at him as I kept hitting him, until blood began to spray from his mouth and onto the walls. Amaya had to pull me off him so he could even breathe. He coughed heavily and wiped the blood from his mouth, but he laughed through the pain.

     "So... You found out who he is, huh?" Rathburn asked me. "You can beat me all you want, Jace. It's not going to get the answers you want."

     "How the hell is he alive and how does he have the powers my father said were specific to my blood???" I asked, enraged and ready to pummel him again. He just shook his head with a laugh.

     "It doesn't matter now," He said and he nodded. "It's time." I was confused until I felt something hit the back of my head. I fell to a knee and I saw Jordan walk past me. He helped Rathburn up and he nodded.

     "Time to go, old man," Jordan said as he looked back at me. Rathburn nodded and he snapped his fingers, sending a jolt of electricity into my body. Every nerve surged with pain as I fell onto my stomach in agony. I watched them as Jordan broke open Darce's door. "Nice to see you, old friend," Jordan said to him and the three of them walked up to me. "This must be so humiliating for you, Jace. To see the biggest threats you've ever known, the ones you created mind you, and watch them walk away as free men." The three of them walked off and I looked around for Amaya, who seemed to be nowhere. "Oh, and I'm keeping your new girlfriend, Jace." I heard Jordan as he walked back to me and the next thing I saw was his boot racing towards my head and I fell unconscious.