Left with a Memory

Chapter 8- Raptured silence

Jackie and Chase exchanged glances when Jamie knocked on the window, then ran out the back door, meeting him halfway. "What's wrong?" Chase asked. Jamie turned in the direction he came from and motioned for them to follow.

He stopped at the corner of the house and saw what Jamie was so panicked about. At each corner of the cabin was a metal rod that stuck in the ground. The rods all connected with an invisible magnetic field which is what kept Anti out. But this rod looked like it had short circuited and exploded. Jamie was kneeling down by it, hands pulling at his hair.

Jackie bent down next to him. "Calm down Jamie, it's okay," He tried to tell him. Jamie just looked at him with slight hint of tears in his eyes. He aggressively banged on his chest with his fist. It took a minute, but Jackie realized what he was trying to say. "No, Jamie don't even try to think that way. It is not your fault. You didn't know this happened."

Jamie wasn't calming down though. He just shook his head vigorously, suddenly standing up and running into the woods behind the cabin. Jackie looked in the direction Jamie ran off in. "Shit," He muttered. "He can't start blaming himself again. He's been doing so well."

Chase turned to Jackie. "What do you mean again?" He asked.

Jackie took a deep breath. "After the fight with Anti, he got it into his mind that if he had used the nightmare cube sooner than it would have never been destroyed. That's why he spent so much time building new devices, because he wanted to avoid it from happening again," He turned around looking at the exploded rod. "And now Marvin goes missing and the one thing keeping Anti away is destroyed. You can't help but put two and two together."

"Right," Chase mumbled. "Why don't you try and figure out what happened here. I'll go talk to him," He suggested.

Jackie looked skeptical. "Are you sure? Maybe I could talk to him instead," He suggested. Chase thought about it for a minute but shook his head.

"No, I think I will," He responded. Jackie just shrugged, not necessarily okay with the plan, but he knew it was dangerous letting Jamie off on his own for too long whenever he got like this. Chase nodded, and ran off in the direction he saw Jamie going. He knew where this path lead, and he had a feeling he knew why Jamie went in this direction.

Finally, Chase made it to a clearing with an old fire pit in the middle. On the opposite side, he saw Jamie crouched down, hugging his sides. Chase felt a pain in his heart seeing him knelt in front of Schneep's grave like that. He was about to approach him, but the mute ego stood up, fists clenched. He took two steps forward and with all his might punched a dead tree near the grave. Chase flinched, he could only watch as Jamie continued to beat into the wood.

Blow after blow, Chase could only imagine how much his hand must have been hurting by now. Finally, Chase ran towards him. "Jamie stop!" He yelled. Jamie turned around, swinging in Chase's direction. Luckily he wasn't close enough for Jamie to actually hit him.

Once Jameson realized who called him, his face went panicked, shaking his hands to try and apologize. "No no, it's fine Jamie. You didn't actually hit me."

Jamie looked away and just nodded. Chase tilted his head, trying to follow his gaze. "Jamie?" Jamie just turned away, fists still clenched. He looked between the grave and the dead tree, as if deciding whether to break out in rage, or in tears.

Chase saw the conflict going on inside of the young ego and just stepped next to him. "I get it. You blame yourself for what happened to Marvin. You're angry, I feel ya. But you wanna know something?" Jamie looked at Chase waiting. "We all blame ourselves. It's in our nature. Jackie wonders what he could have done to protect him better. I blame myself for not being here. But none of us could have prevented something like this, nor could we predict it. Anti is a being beyond our control. He's unpredictable. No matter how we prepared, he's the one that decided to do this. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Chase hoped he was getting through to Jamie. He wasn't always the best with feelings, but this was something he needed to believe for himself. Saying to Jamie wasn't just for the other's benefit.

The silent ego took a deep breath, finally relaxing his hands. He turned and nodded. Chase gave him a questioning look, as if to ask if he was sure. Jamie took moment but then his face relaxed and he nodded more assuring this time. Chase smiled, giving him a firm pat on the shoulder. "Good, I promise you, we'll find Marvin soon."