Jet the Custos

Three Months Later

*3 Months Later*

     Jet was once again sitting on the rooftop of the library, looking out at the town that no longer looked boring, but was now disgusting. It was inhabited with Shadow People, and Jet didn’t care. Custos were running around everywhere, but Jet wasn’t going to help them. Just like they didn’t help him. Jet was now as dark as his name. He was looking at his dagger, it wasn’t shining, it was breaking, crumbling into ash. That is what happens when you are no longer pure, and Jet was as pure as dirt.

     He was remembering the events that had happened over the past three months. First, Ardore became the love of his life. Second, he wasn’t allowed to see her, and that is when the worst happened…

     “Ardore, I can’t see you anymore. Please, don’t look for me. You will just get yourself into trouble, and I can not bear to see you hurt,” Jet was whispering this, and he wanted to cry when he saw Ardore’s expression.

     “What do you mean you can’t see me. Yesterday you told me you loved me. Is this about the Shadow People? Because I think they are all gone now. They haven’t attacked me in weeks, and the Tessera won’t ask anymore questions now that they are done,” Ardore rambled.

     “It isn’t the Shadow People, but it is the Tessera. They weren’t worried about the Shadow People, they were worried about me. Growing connections with human things isn’t right. They know what I feel for you, and they will take you away if I don’t stop. They will kill you Ardore, and I will not let that happen.”

     “I am not a thing. I have a soul, just like you have a soul. Screw the Tessera, you always said that they were getting old, and that their laws were old fashioned. What is stopping you from saying that to them now?”

     “Ardore, you don’t understand! I don't have a soul, not really. That is why the Shadow People can't hurt us Custos, but they can kill you! I cannot allow that to happen! The Tessera won't allow me to talk to you, they say I am too attached. That might make me leave, and if I left. The Shadow People would come crashing in! I need to be able to protect you. That is my job!” Jet was almost yelling at this point.

     “Your job? Your job? It wasn’t your job that made you love me! It was your heart...your heart and your soul! I know you have a soul, I have seen it. The Tessera didn’t make you love me. You did! Why are you listening to them now?” Ardore was yelling too.

     “Because…because…argh! You don’t understand! You don’t get what this feels like! I can’t love you, and I won’t love you! Goodbye Ardore.”

Jet raced out of the house, and slipped into the darkness, before Ardore could even yell to wait.

     Jet wished he'd listened to Ardore, but it was too late now. He would always regret leaving her, regret not paying attention, regret breaking his promise - his promise to always keep her safe. The days after the fight were the hardest of his existence. Not stopping by her house, just to say hello, just to see her face. Not walking her home from school, or work. He couldn't stand to watch her from a distance, so he decided to ignore her completely. For awhile everything was fine, then on Friday something changed.

     Jet heard a bell. School must be out, he thought. He mentally remembered the route that Ardore took home, and deliberately turned in the opposite direction to watch the traffic on the other side of town. He had a feeling something was off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Jets neck tingled, and he was getting colder. But he dismissed this as the cold February weather and the chill around his heart without Ardore. Then he heard it, the silent laughter.

     Oh no, Jet thought. He turned around and looked for a Shadow, they always laughed when they get their victims. He spotted the Shadow leaning over the body of a girl…Ardore. He jumped from the rooftop, and bounded to Ardore. He felt like he was suddenly the slowest person in the world. It seemed like the Shadow was moving in double time, and that he was running in slow motion. He could see the Shadow ooze its way into her body, defiling it. Jet screamed in outrage. Suddenly the slow motion running cracked, and he flung his body with all his power across the block to the alleyway.

     Before the Shadow had time to figure out how to move inside the new body, Jet pinned Ardore to the ground. He quickly got out a flask with a bright liquid, and his dagger. It was almost filled with marks, and it started to glow. He could feel the body go rigid underneath him, and that made him freeze.

     “No, no, no, NO!” Jet screamed.

     The Shadow was smarter than most, it had quickly spread itself completely over the soul of Ardore. It had already paralyzed it. Ardore opened her eyes, or the Shadow did. They were no longer the icy blue of the girl he loved, they were pure darkness.

     Jet shook himself out of the past, so he wouldn’t have to relive the pain of what happened next. He had failed. His feelings had gotten in the way of saving Ardore. The Shadow had looked into the memories of Ardore, and used those to its advantage, distracting Jet with the things it found in Ardores mind. How he could’ve had a life with her, how he broke his promise to keep her safe, how he was a failure, and that the Tessera never liked him anyway. He had given into the feelings the Shadows words had evoked, and he messed up, he couldn’t save Ardore. He had been able to kill the Shadow, but he hadn't been able to save Ardore.

     The pain of what happened was heartbreaking. Ardore was dead, and Jet had died with her. He no longer felt anything, and wouldn’t again until her ghost would come back to save him from the pit of agony he was in. He could no longer help the world, he couldn’t even help himself. All that was left was darkness, and darkness was looking really intriguing at this point.

The End