"Yeah, I'm.. It's nothing, mom." I said simply, gazing back at her.
Mom tilted her head and raised an eyebrow at me. "You were deep in again, Kieran. You can tell me."
"It wasn't anything important." I sighed out.
"Was it about a girl?" She paused, a bit of hesitation in her voice. "Or a boy?"
"Well, technically it was about a boy." I wasn't lying.
"What about this boy?" She asked, sitting beside me.
"I've been thinking about my life." I confided in her for some odd reason.
She looked at me with confusion before it hit her. "Are you alright? Do you need antidepressants or anything?"
"Yes, I'm fine mom.." I lied now, looking away from her eyes.
"Are you sure?" She said, grabbing my shoulder. "Depression is a serious thing, honey."
"Let's not just to conclusions and say that I'm depressed." I paused, thinking of other possibilities. "I was just.. Thinking."
"About what, Kieran?" She asked, a serious tone in her voice was evident.
"Well. Wondering if I'm important, but I've been forgetting somethings too. It feels like my life is falling apart.." I sighed, letting a giant weight off my shoulders by telling her this information.
Mom nodded slowly, pulling me to my feet and fitting me in a nice pair of shoes. She scuttled out the door with me by her side and walked us out to her car. She pulled me into a passenger seat and closed the door beside me, getting into the drivers seat after and closing the door. She buckled herself in and I followed by buckling myself in. She started driving into this wooded area that I didn't recognize. I looked at her with confusion and was met with no answer as her eyes were dead ahead on the road.
"Mom, where are we going?" I asked quietly.
Mom looked ahead. "I'm getting rid of you. We're done."
"What?" I asked turning fully to her. "But... Why?"
"The bills, the pills, and now you're telling me you're thinking depressed? I think that you're going to have a nice fun time thinking about that stuff in the middle of the woods with the thoughts that you disappointed everyone around you." She spoke, her voice almost ghostly and cracking a bit.
I shook my head, this had to be another hallucination. "You're.. You're not real, mom! You're not real, and I know it!"
I yelled, shaking my head and closing my eyes tightly.
"See how it feels Kieran? Nobody cares about you. You're going to die too, Kieran. Just like me." I opened my eyes to this voice to see Jenna was now at the car wheel, but pulled over without crashing.
"I... I... What... What's happening... Jenna?" My voice spook, my eyes dilated.
"Don't you know?" He asked, leaning over. "You're nothing to me, you're nothing to anyone. Am I really the one who isn't real? Who's to say you're not just make believe?"
"I'm.. I'm real!" I said, nodding to myself. Intruding thoughts made its way into my mind. "Did you plan this all for me to suffer Jenna?!"
"Death is a funny thing Kieran." He laughed a bit, turning into a rich deep cackling. "You, are going to die. I know exactly how! Here!"
"What...? I can't... I can't die now. I can't die now. Can I? No. I can't, Jenna. I can't. I won't let you. I have control, because... Because I'm real. You're not." I said, uncertainty taking me over.
"Just some time to wait, to sit back and chat, just you and I." He snapped, and the car made a clicking noise as if it locked from the outside.
I looked at him, begging for an answer with the look in my eyes. "You aren't going to let me die, Jenna. You know it was an accident. I didn't know, Jenna. Please."
"You're not sorry, Kieran. Why did you let us crash then, huh?" He asked, tears rolling down his cheeks.
I shook my head desperately trying to think of a good answer. "I was drunk, I shouldn't have done it. I'm so sorry Jenna."
"But were you?" He asked, solemnly staring ahead at one singular point.
"Of course I was" I sighed, "Alcohol affects your decision making, I thought we would both make it out of there alive."
Jenna looked at me finally, his eye sockets completely blurred over. "You mean it?"
"Why would I want to hurt you Jenna? I loved you." I said, trying not to stare.
"You don't still love me?" He asked, pausing. "Why not?"
I looked at him with confusion. "You're.. dead, Jenna. I tried to move on from your death, it's as simple as that. I didn't want you to be mad over me being sad over your death or something like that."
"I am, but there's this thing.." He held out his hand, a single ruby colored pin in his hand.
At this point I was sure he was crazy, but he was dead after all. I never thought I would think that. "What is that supposed to do? Sew our way to victory or something?"
"Shh, Kieran. It's like an extra life in a video game, almost. Except, you wouldn't be too lucky trying to use it in times of terror. You have to prick your right ring finger tip, I don't imagine doing that quickly without struggle in danger." He said, holding it out to me.
"Well... Why are you giving this to me?" I asked, continuing. "Isn't there someone better?"
"Because you earned it. Now keyring, will you take it or not?" He tilted his head at me.
I had a few moments hesitation before I grabbed it and pricked the tip of my right ring finger. "Just in case."
I looked outside the car window, watching the world around me move in slow motion. I felt a pain start to rise in my throat as I slowly realized I only took one pill. The pills helped keep my neck tissue healed, and I felt a ripping start where the puncture wounds were. I grabbed my throat in a desperate attempt to get out of the current situation, I only had one extra life and I didn't want to waste it. But the tissue quickly fell apart as if the pills were the only important thing left. Blood filled my lungs and I passed out.
"Squad 221, there's a body here.. It's bleeding out of its neck, possible attack of a creature from the woods. It... It healed. It's moving!" An odd, unfamiliar voice woke me.
