The American Nightmare

Chapter 10: The Ghost of Jay Gatsby

In the guest bedroom of the Cullen house, Y/N slowly wakes. In the town, the prisoners groan and awaken as the light of the sun shines through the small windows of the jail. Far away, the same light reaches the escapees within the forest.

Proctor approaches Jacob, who is sitting on a blanket, still in his PJs.

"Jacob, we need to make a game plan. We must rescue Y/N today, I'm worried about what the Cullens might do next."

"We have more important things to do than rescue Y/N. We need to get more prisoners and train them so we can take back Roxbury." Jacob says with a yawn.

"Listen to me, wolf boy, we need to get Y/N now. She's more than just any old girl. She is brighter than the sun on warm June day. She is sweeter than a fresh slice of pie. She is more beautiful than a blossoming rose in summer. She is- well, you wouldn't understand anyways."

"OoHooh tHe sUN On a wArM jUNedaY... go rescue her yourself, lover boy! See what the Cullens do to you!" Jacob replies mockingly with a chuckling laugh.

"I will. I'll do anything for Y/N. I would move the mountains for her, bucket by bucket. I would reroute the rivers. I would cross the oceans floating on a single log to save Y/N."

"Got it. Well, have fun."

Proctor turns towards the forest, the morning sun shining down through the trees. As he steps forward, the wind blows in his devilishly poised shirt to reveal his chiseled abs. Running into the woods, he chases after his dream fearlessly, hoping that it isn't too late.

A short while later, Proctor stops, out of breath, and leans against a tree, halfway between the cottage and Roxbury.

As he gasps helplessly for breath, he considers turning back--regretting his decision to rescue Y/N.

"I will never be able to save her from the Cullens--and what if she actually wants to stay with them? Who could ever love a devilish man like me, after all?" Suddenly, he hears a strange rustle in the leaves behind him. A man steps out from the trees. The stranger is dressed in a brilliant pink suit, a bright, radiant smile shining on his gorgeously tanned face. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced — or seemed to face — the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor.

"My name, old sport, is Jay Gatsby. And you, you are John Proctor, are you not?" The man spoke.

"I... I am he." Proctor says, bewildered by the man who stands before him, "How do you know who I am?"

"I know everything, old sport. Years into the future, I will chase a dream as senseless and impossible as yours. No, I will more than chase that dream. I will fight after it, pushing through a hurricane of doubts and restrictions--towards the light at the end of that dock."

"Why? Why will you fight after something so impossible?" Proctor cries.

"Dreams are all a man has, old sport. And I think you'll realize that if you turn back now. I will spend my life in pursuit of Daisy--but even beyond that, I will spend my life in pursuit of the American Dream. When I will meet my fate--when I will die, alone in my unfulfilled glory, I will be given this omniscience in exchange for my life of dreaming. I am forced to long for Daisy forevermore. My dream can never be silenced. You see, old sport, without this dream, I would be nothing, just an empty shell, alone and afraid. John, you must succeed. Your dream must be fulfilled."

"I'm afraid... What happens if I fail?"

"You mustn't." Gatsby replies gravely.

"And if I do? Please, Mr Gatsby, if you truly do know everything then tell me what I must do. How can I save her?" Proctor pleads.

"Go to her. Do not stop. Tell her how you feel. Sweep her off her feet. The rest is up to you." His soft pink suit begins to fade away,

"Gatsby! Where are you going?"

"Back to the future, old sport. Back to Daisy, that I might relive every moment with her again and again for a thousand years--stuck in an endless cycle of my own corrupting dream."

Gatsby's voice fades as he is pulled back into the future.

"Goodbye, old sport." His final words are as ominous as they are infuriating to Proctor.

Proctor falls to his knees as Gatsby disappears, worrying endlessly about how he might save his true love. As the final traces of Gatsby disappear, he is filled with a devilishly blazing courage only few will ever know. Proctor rises, with steel in his gaze.

'I'm coming, Y/N," He whispers.

...

Out of breath, Proctor arrives at the Cullens' house. His heart races in his chest as he walks around, stepping carefully on the forest foliage, trying to find a way in.

On the southeast side, he sees a figure in the window on the second floor and darts behind a tree. But no... that couldn't have been a Cullen. Stepping out from the tree, he sees an innocently beautiful woman sitting in the window, reading a book. Y/N.

Proctor picks up a small stone and rubs it between his fingers, feeling the smooth and round surface. A moment later he throws it at the window, making a small sound. Y/N turns, startled, and sees a devilishly handsome man standing in the grass. She rushes to open the window, letting her hair blow in the cool forest breeze.

"John! It's you!" She cries, still holding onto her book in one hand, the communist manifesto.

"Y/N!" Proctor cries in reply, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate."

"Oh, John, I've waited so long for you to return!"

"My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep; the more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite." They both reach a hand out, with so much space between them but yet so little.

Staring at Proctor lovingly, she starts to exit the window, when a cold hand grabs her arm.

"Where do you think you're going, love?" Edward says menacingly, "The butterfly can only fight as strongly as their weakest wing, Y/N."

"Let me go, Edward!" she cries, then her voice falls to a whisper in Edward's ear, "Don't worry, I'll get the details about where the escapees are staying and come back" He nods and loosens his grip. She pulls her arm loose and jumps from the window, falling gracefully and slowly down into Proctor's arms. As she hugs Proctor, Edward detects a tinge of true love in her innocently beautiful eyes.

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