Hidden In The Attic: An AJR Fanfiction

Chapter Eight

↤↤↤↤↤ Ryan ↦↦↦↦↦

"Dinners ready!" Adam calls from the kitchen. It's been a few hours since we all came back from our "hike" and everyone's just sitting around being stupid.
Hanna and Julie are wrapped up in yet another blanket burrito, but this time in a different blanket. Jay and Kib are playing checkers on the floor, which I fear will spark into a fist fight at any moment, and Danny's sitting on the back of the couch talking to Jack, who is spread out luxuriously on the beanbag. Jack hasn't talked much, though. Not since we found him in the woods where he fell. I'm still a bit confused on that, though. Why did he look so scared? And what did he trip on? And what on earth was happening afterwards?
My mind returns to when I found him in the bathroom. Well, I didn't really find him. He was screaming loud enough for everyone to hear, but I'm the only one who went to go find out what was happening. I never got an answer.
Anyway, everyone gets up at Adam's summons one by one and heads to the table. Adam's made some chicken fingers from a box, as we haven't done a lot of grocery shopping.
Everyone seems to be eyeing Jack speculatively. They aren't sure what's going on with him, and neither am I. But staring at him would just make him feel more alien, so I treat him as normally as I can.
After a few minutes of talking and eating, our dog becomes the topic of conversation. Jack stops eating entirely— not that he was eating much before— and focuses on talking about Shay. He's finally acting like himself again, smiling for the first time since he laughed at Danny this morning.
"Yeah, she was really fluffy when we got her, but we cut her fur for the summer," he says. His voice kind of drops as he finishes, and I assume something got caught in his throat or something.
"How heavy is she?" Jay asks, setting down his glass after taking a drink.
I shift my position in my chair. "About seventy pounds," I reply. "Right?" I turn to Jack for him to confirm, expecting a 'yeah' or a 'she's actually about 80,' but he doesn't speak— he's just staring straight ahead blankly. He was so excited and happy and laughing just a few seconds ago. Oh no. What happened?
"Jack?" I wave a hand in front of his face jokingly, figuring that he just zoned out, but it doesn't snap him out of it and he's still staring. After a few seconds, he turns his head and glances at me briefly. Well, no, he isn't looking at me. Anyone would think that he is, but his eyes don't seem to connect with mine. They look right through me.
Without a word, Jack quietly turns and stands up out of his chair, then starts walking towards the stairs.
"Where are you going?" I ask, turning in my seat to look. He doesn't reply but instead keeps walking. I don't like this. Something is off about the way he's walking and the look that was on his face. "Jack?"
I glance once more at the rest of the table, who are all staring in confusion, before getting up and following him, repeating his name to get his attention. It doesn't work, obviously.
Maybe he's just going to the bathroom. I hope that's what it is, but something in my gut tells me that's not what it is. He's going up the stairs now, walking with a strange, ethereal certainty that I can't place, but I know makes my stomach turn.
I reach up and grab his arm lightly, only to recoil to find that it's cold. Why is it cold? It's warm in the cabin, and only getting warmer as we go up the stairs. He doesn't seem to notice me touch him and keeps going until we finally reach the second floor.
Maybe he's going to his room to get a sweater, or something, if he's so cold. I hope it's that, but he turns to the second set of stairs leading to the attic rather than go down the hallway to our bedroom..
"Jack, come on," I say, grabbing his arm again and trying to hold him in place. "What are you doing?"
He turns to look at me. This time, rather than passing through me, his gaze pierces mine and I let go of him, chills grabbing hold of my entire body.
Jack gets up to the attic and I follow him still, keeping at a larger distance than before. Once we're up there, I'm terrified. What is he looking for?
To my surprise, he somehow finds a small door in the darkness that opens out onto the roof. How did he know that was there? Did he find it earlier? The light from outside illuminates the attic and I look around for a second, seeing that pentagram that Jay showed us. I shake a bit, my stomach lurching, before turning away to follow Jack out onto the roof. This is bad. I want to leave.
I crawl up onto the roof, trying not to fall down the decline. The cold wind from earlier has started up again and I stumble a bit, but Jack stays in place. It's still drizzling and cloudy, and I hope the rain doesn't pick up. Jack seems unfazed by all of this. What's wrong with him?
We stand there for about a minute, Jack staring out to the lake without responding to me, before I hear someone else. I jump a bit, only to realize that Adam is crawling through the door to join us, followed by Danny, Kib, Jay, Julie and Hanna. Jack doesn't seem to notice the noise and continues to stare straight ahead.
"What the hell is he doing?" Jay asks, standing with Kib and Danny near the edge and looking at his blank face.
I shrug nervously. "I don't know. He won't respond to me. Jack?" I ask again, only for no reaction.
Adam is standing a bit in front of me, eyes flickering between Jack and the group near the edge. "Maybe back up from the edge of the roof," he warns. "The wind is strong, and we don't want anyone falling."
Kib, Danny and Jay back up and join Julie and Hanna right next to Adam, still staring suspiciously at Jack and pressed together for warmth.
Suddenly, my stomach jumps as Jack moves forward. He takes a few steps and is now standing right at the edge of the roof. The toe-end of his shoes are hanging over the side and I'm terrified.
"Jack," I say with urgency. My voice wavers. "What are you doing?" I try to approach him but Adam stops me.
"It's easy to fall off," he warns me. "He'll come back. Just stay here."
I find it hard to listen to him, but I do. I'm right beside Adam, him holding my arm so I don't go to Jack.
The whole of us are now saying Jack's name, asking what the fuck he's doing. My hands are shaking and I'm obviously more scared than the rest of them. I just get such a strange vibe from this. I have goosebumps, but it's not because of the cold.
Suddenly he turns. I freeze and we fall silent as Jack stares at me, nothing behind his eyes.
"Jack," I breathe, my voice shaking and desperate. "Jack, come here. Stop. What the fuck is wrong with you?"
His feet move and I almost think for a moment that he's about to join us farther away from the edge, finally regaining his sanity, but my stomach falls as he doesn't. Instead, he stumbles slightly and starts to fall backwards.
"No, no, no, no! Jack!" I yell. I tear free of Adams grip and half-run half-slide down the roof in an attempt to catch him but it's too late. I watch in silent horror as he falls, his face empty and staring up at the sky, then hits the ground with a sickening thud.
I stare at his body on the ground for a few seconds before tears blur my vision and I can't see it anymore. I back up slightly from the edge, shaking and sobbing.
"What just happened?" I hear Adam ask, a slight tremor in his voice.
"Did he just jump?"
"He fell!"
"Oh, my God."
"What the hell?"
Everyone is asking questions, and I want to tell them to shut the fuck up. I stand, wiping my face with my hands, and rush past everyone to get back through the door. I clamber hastily back through the door and down both flights of stairs while tears continue to skew my sight.
I swing open the front door and turn the corner to see Jack laying on the ground. My knees almost give out and send me to the ground, too, but I stay standing until I reach my brother and allow myself to fall into the grass next to him, water soaking my knees. The rain gets stronger.
I think I can hear Adam and everyone else behind me in a scared cluster, but I'm not looking and my senses seem to be stifled. All I know right now is Jack in front of me.
Is he dead?
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, no, no no no, Jack," I stammer. He's lying on his back, his arms spread out and his palms facing upward. His shirt is pulled up a bit, exposing his stomach, and his head is facing slightly to the left, his eyes open halfway. His nose is bleeding, but he isn't bleeding anywhere else. My hand is shaking too much to check his pulse so I just sit on my knees next to him, shaking his shoulders gently.
"Ryan." I can hear Adam now. He's next to me on the ground, his voice hoarse and shaky. His hands are more stable than mine, though, so he puts two fingers on Jack's neck for a few seconds.
"He has a pulse," he breathes. I feel relief wash over me and yet I collapse even more, my head resting on Jack's shoulder, and my body shaking with sobs.
"Oh, my God," I whisper into the fabric of his shirt. "Oh, my God."
I lift my head to see that more people are here now. Danny is crouched by his head, with Jay right next to him, while Hanna, Julie and Kib are standing on the other side of Adam.
Jay's hand is up to his face. "What do we do?"
I take off my glasses and shove them in my pocket. They're too smudged to see anything. And I'd rather my vision be blurry right now— I don't want to look at Jack anymore.
Adam stands up, almost stumbling. "We- we should get him inside," he says. "Just try not to hurt him more."
I nod, slipping my hands under Jack's shoulders to lift him up, expecting him to flinch at my touch, but he doesn't. Somehow that's worse. Julie and Hanna join Adam and I in lifting him off of the ground as Danny, Kib and Jay stand back, staring. They hold open the door for us as we slowly stumble inside, trying not to hurt him more. But there really wouldn't be any way to tell if we hurt him if he stays unconscious. He might as well be dead.
I feel the air leave my lungs and my arms quiver under Jack's weight, rainwater only making him heavier.
Oh, God. What if he dies?