In Memoriam - An AJR Fic (Everything Clicks - Book 2)

Dear Winter (Jack)

I had somehow found my way out of state. A while out of state. I started driving and hadn't stopped for hours. I wasn't sure where I was going. I was just following...intuition? Was that it?

Left, right, left, forward, right.

Every stoplight, every stop sign, every turn, it was all a test of instinct. Where that instinct was bringing me, I guessed I would find out.

I'd driven into a decent-sized lake town, somewhere I'd never heard of before. It was a quaint little place. The buildings looked historic, but all manner of people walked the streets. Cars, buses, bikes, and taxis all shared the roadways. On one side of the road, there was greenery and a clear view of the lake in the distance. It was a unique town.

I found myself at another stoplight. I took in the sights around me. I wasn't happy, I wasn't sad. I was just...here. Present. Maybe Dr. Atwood hadn't been entirely wrong in her advice.

Just as I was starting to feel a bit better, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. There was an alleyway on the left side of the road, and I just barely saw a moving shape take off into it. I kept my eyes half on the alleyway entrance, half on the stoplight. Part of me thought it could be my own imagination, part of me thought it could be...a certain L-word coming back to play.

With all my might, I hoped not.

A few seconds passed. Again, I saw a whitish-colored shape slowly move toward the main street, then quickly dart back into the alley. It was too far away to make out what the shape was, but something was there. As cliche and horror movie-like as it sounds, I felt like I needed to go and figure out what was happening. With how the past few months had been, whatever it was could've been there for me. I pulled off the road and parked on the side before slowly approaching the alley.

When I looked between the buildings, there was nothing there.

"...Hello?" I called.

No response.

I cautiously took a step forward. Even though it was the middle of the day, something about this alleyway gave me a bad feeling. 

"Is there anyone h-"

A low, quiet hum started to drone all around me. I stopped in my tracks. 

"...No. I'm not putting up with you again," I commanded. "You...have no power over me."

The hum didn't change pitch or intensity. It kept its same sound. I worried I may have to face my worst fear a second time. I took another nervous step.

"Didn't you hear me? Leave me alone!"

The noise still didn't change. I looked around me for the source, and it was then that I noticed a generator on a building to my left was buzzing and humming. I felt a little embarrassed.

"Oh. I can put up with you."

Then, a couple of yards in front of me, an off-white appendage stuck out from behind a building.

"...Now, what are you?"

I approached slowly, trying not to anger or upset whatever it was. This had to be the shape I saw from the road. It shook slightly. I peered around the corner as carefully as I could from the opposite side of the alley.

...There was nothing threatening at all.

Instead, only a frightened stray dog cowered against the building. She backed up further into the corner when she saw me. She was dirty, and it looked like she hadn't eaten for a while. My heart sank.

I knelt on the ground and held my hand out for the dog to sniff. She tentatively came a few steps closer, but not close enough for me to reach.

"I wanna help you..." I reassured softly. "I wanna get you out of here."