And with that, the door closed, leaving Jay to his solitude.
Jay clutched at his shirt, uncertainty rising like cloudy flood waters. He didn't know how to deal with all of this. Were Masky and Tim truly the same person? Of course, yes - physically at least, they were identical. But it seemed as though Masky was an entirely different person mentally. He had his own thoughts, his own wills.
Jay knew that the darkness that existed behind Tim's eyes was Masky.
But what was even more complicated was the purpose behind Masky's actions. There's no way the masked man could actually be fond of Jay in such a way - no. There was something else, Jay was sure of it. Tim himself was another beast, another mystery - perhaps Tim indeed liked Jay. But no - that was all too much and all too strange to think about now.
This was not a time to think about relationships.
Alex was still out there.
Brian, Jessica, and Amy too.
How could he have just forgotten about them? Tim and Jay were only working together to find their lost mutual friends - and no more. They had been forced together for this purpose and this purpose only.
Jay curled up in his bed, a sudden chill infiltrating the cavity in his chest.
Tomorrow, he thought.
Tomorrow I'll go back to Rosswood and settle...settle something.
Jay drifted into a heavy sleep.
He dreamed of crossed-out circles.
OOO
Jay was standing in the field just outside Rosswood park. His eyes were tuned into the bright morning sky, swallowing the sluggish motions of the marshmallow clouds. The sun was almost too bright, almost too real for Jay.
He gripped a brand-new camera in his right hand, silver and sparkling in the sun's glow.
He stretched out his arm, glad that his wound had healed, though leaving a gnarly scar.
He was fine. Jay was fine. He felt much, much better.
Although he wasn't quite sure why, Jay had a feeling his sudden burst of energy had something to do with Tim. Always with Tim. Always with Masky. The mysterious figures who, though occupying the same physical body, seemed to be two different entities within Jay's head. Tim was his friend - yes, he could call him that now. And Masky...Masky was dangerous. Elusive and dangerous and enchanting.
Like a fairy. An awful, black fairy.
Jay snorted out loud and continued on his way, poking through the beginnings of underbrush and saplings. He held his new camera out with confidence - anxious, nervous, but familiar confidence - and watched the image through the screen.
