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#Post#: 410551--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jackie's Odd Jobs
DIR By: Evil Kitty
Date: March 15, 2020, 7:15 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
EPISODE 10: THE MAD CHILD ("Uncommon Valor: A Vietnam Story" by
Jedi Mind Tricks)
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
93 Days of Hospice
Jackie and the man laughed loudly within the tight walls as the
boy sat and listened to amusing stories of old. "Boy, did I love
that bike, Jackie. Very first one I owned. Bought with my own
money, yaknow?" The man would turn to look to Jackie for
reassurance as he would smile and nod. "Oh, sounds it, mate.
Bettin' all the misses were hoppin' on the back." Of which the
man would boom out in laughter in reply. "Oh, yeah. Plenty of
long rides on those mountain hills.."
Though, it had seemed with the mention of the hills the man had
sealed his own fate of seemingly forgotten subjects. His mind
scattering a bit as he tried to shake off the thought; failing
with a sigh. "Yeah... Real shame about that bike.... Didn't have
it once I got back.." Jackie quickly perking up in his seat with
a sly smirk. "Oh yeah? Back from where, mate? You don't go
anywhere." The man only grumbling in reply to Jackie in
distaste. "You know where, Jack..."
187 Days of Hospice
The man looked around at the tiny, padded, room with an
overflowing sense of fear and betrayal. Seeing the scratches
from past cries and struggles upon the walls. The impacts left
all upon the room. Yet, despite that overwhelming loneliness
there was always one to join him. Jackie. Sitting in his corner
of the room and sipping from the metal tip of his boot.
Blatantly using his cane to fill the make-shift glass. The man
finally turning to him and viciously growling. "It's not a cup,
Jackie!! That's your damn boot!" The mad man screamed into the
corner of the room as Jackie smiled in reply to him.
"Well, mate... You gonna tell me 'nother story?" Jackie smirked
devilishly to the man; knowing the man was growing tired of the
boy's patience. "Fine..." The man scoffed with the drop of his
form upon the floor; his arms bound by straight jacket. "It was
the start of the draft, you see... And I had been twenty four at
the time so I was of perfect age to be pulled from home..."
Jackie hearing the story and reading the man's posture only
let's out a drunken chuckle. "So, how were the women?"
The man was surprised by the boy's words. So much so he thought
he may had misinterpreted them. Though, as he looked up to meet
Jackie's cocky glare he knew he had him right. Turning his
tragedy into a mere joke. It enraged the man. "You lil' bastard!
I'll kill ya!!" He yelled as he lunged at the corner that Jackie
had sat in, though, all he had met was wall. A chuckle being
heard as the man slowly blacked out. "Maybe next time, Willie.."
265 Days of Hospice
"So, that's it, then?" Jackie inquired to the man in the other
end of the room who twitched and cringed at his every word. A
laugh escaping from his lips as he rolls his eyes to the man's
ignorance. "Yep. You start takin' meds instead of hidin' 'em
from the doc', so now you can't see me? Can't hear me?" His grin
growing wider as he let out a loud, pleased, sigh. Tapping his
cane to the floor as he finally stood after all this time.
Forcing the man to flinch.
Yet, the man still refused to look as Jackie watched him
closely; slowly approaching before turning the corner. Now
standing in front of the sweating man as he leaned in close.
Temptation being forced to change with one slam to the floor
into it's full, gruesome, scythe form: emitting a deep black
smoke. "Understand this..." Jackie spoke harshly as the smoke
entangled his face paint; contorting the sloppy mess into a dark
mask of shadowy bone. "I am the medicine." Jackie said with a
laugh as he lift the base of Temptation: touching it to the
forehead of the panicking, silent, man. Leaving him only to pass
out.
342 Days of Hospice
"Jackie... I..." The man tried to say with a bit of reluctance;
given their recent history as cell mates. Though, Jackie had
seemed to have a good idea what the man had to say already;
seeming to be preoccupied with other thoughts. "Yeah, mate..?"
Willie sighed in reply to Jackie recognizing his words. He was
hoping, in a way, the boy would just ignore him. "I don't think
you're part of my imagination..." Of which Jackie only let out
an amused huff. "Yeah?"
Though, the man continued his thoughts, not giving much room for
Jackie: who didn't seem to want much room to speak regardless.
"I think... I think you might be death..." Those words causing
the man to look over to Jackie to be recognized. Though, Jackie
only raised an eyebrow in a curious reply; as if to ask if it
was his turn to speak. "Death, huh... Well, I'm just a cog in a
machine, mate.. Maybe that makes me death, but, I think if
anyone's gonna kill ya' it's gonna be you or these walls.." The
man sighed as he did not get the answered he had pleased,
though, he was glad to have at least to get an answer.
421 Days of Hospice
"I... Killed a lot of people..." The man finally broke his
silent contemplation to the boy with a sigh of his tone. "We did
horrible things over there to people... To families... Just
trying to protect themselves..." The man spoke to Jackie with
tears in his eyes as Jackie, once more, sipped from his liquor
filled make shift cup. The boy turning to face this man with a
now kind smile as he left his glass half way; holding it by his
lap. "Willie... You were a soldier... It wasn't your choice..."
The man stood quiet as Jackie reached over for his medication;
taking it into the palm of his skeletal hand. "Death by treason
or death by fighting... Those were your choice and you
survived... Only to beat ya'self up about things you didn't
pick... So, remember those long nights in the trenches... And
those times on the bike... Just... Don't forget to enjoy the
ride and take your medicine.." Jackie said with a chuckle as he
held out his glass and the pills for the man. A bittersweet
smile on his face as the teary eyed man nodded in reply.
"Yeah... I guess, Jack..." He muttered as he reached for the
pills and cup.
Slipping the medicine with Jackie's drink without a second
thought as he sat there a moment. Unaware as he had felt a
soothing drunkenness cross over him. "Hm... I think I'm gonna
get some rest..." Jackie only smiling in reply. "You do that,
soldier." The boy spoke as he tucked the tired man into his
sheets; watching the spirit shed from the body as it had finally
escaped from those padded walls. For once, a sigh of relief
escaping Jackie's lips.
#Post#: 410553--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jackie's Odd Jobs
DIR By: Evil Kitty
Date: March 19, 2020, 3:09 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
(Did not like writing this one. Left a lot of really.. Bleak
details out of this story)
EPISODE 11: THE CAGED OMEN ("Are You Experienced?" by Jimi
Hendrix)
JUSTICE
Jackie slowly managed to pull himself through the, dark, city
slums as the moon had barely lit his path beneath the flickering
street lights. Only the tap of that cane to keep him company as,
for once, he had felt... Lost. Forsaken, even. Yet, at the same
time, as he passed a small home of men he noticed something..
They could see him as they sat upon their front stoop. Though,
they had known his face before in this world of oppression. It
had made them cautious and unwilling to approach as Jackie made
his way through.. This wasn't going to be good.
Soon in his journey he had felt something strange from the cane
within his grip.. A sense of fear it had never shown before..
Followed with the loud sound of police sirens headed in Jackie's
direction. "Great.." Is all the boy could mutter. The news only
to grow better as he looked down; Temptation's very form
subtracting into itself. Forming into the shape of a small,
metallic, pill as Jackie looked to it wide eyed. A bit of a
bewildered mutter escaping his lips. "Um.. Can't be good."
Sure enough, just as he had spoken those words, those squad cars
had immediately sped in to slam the breaks behind him. The shock
of the sound was enough to activate the boy's impulse;
immediately shoving the pill down his gullet with a heavy
swallow. Shaking the feeling off as he muttered the words.
"Gonna regret that later..." Though, the words were quickly
halted as the doors to the squad cars were opened and guns
drawn. "Hands in the air!" The officers seeming stressed and
aggravated; leaving no room for patience.
The boy's back to them, his skeletal hands were the first thing
they were to see. "Woah, mate! I used the crosswalk!" The
officer in charge having no mood for the boy's crude
assumptions; he continues with his stop. "There's a woman who
was just killed not far from here! Turn around and face me,
son!" Jackie only chuckled a bit at the thought of it; though
probably not his best of ideas as he turned around with that
skull painted smirk. "Help if I said it wasn't me, mate?"
Though, the officer and Jackie both knew the answer to that
question.
Next thing he knew the officer was calling it in as Jackie was
being slammed against the front hood of the squad car; being
read his rights. "Oooh! Careful, Romeo. Wanted my first time to
be special!" The officer only growling in reply as he pulled him
from the hood and threw the boy in the back. "You have the right
to remain silent; so I suggest you use it." Though, it certainly
was an interesting sight to see them book the young boy. He had
no paper work on him. His face in no file. Nor any name he had
given them. They couldn't even pinpoint his age as he kept
telling them how he wasn't even taught how to count.
In their frustrations, and overall defeat, they decided to
simply proceed with the booking process and cage this one;
simply labeling him a John Doe on the files. Of course, he made
his name known to the guards that escorted him to his lovely new
apartment for the entirety of this new life. Being thrown into a
cell with a, rather large, man reading a book upon the bottom
bunk. Though, as he saw Jackie's freshly cleaned, boyish face,
he could only grin in reply to him. "Oooh. What's this?" The man
said as Jackie treated him with a glare. Silently walking over
to place his pillows and sheets upon the top bunk: the guard now
walking away. "We don't usually get ones so pretty as you, lil'
one."
The way this man spoke. Jackie could feel his eyes shifting from
the green-tainted blue to that of ice... He would enjoy this
one. That's all he could think as the man got up from his bunk
in the silence of the night. This silence broken, along with the
serenity of the other inmates, as all that was heard was the
loud rustling of two bodies within Jackie's cell. Soon to be a
loud pop and the thud of a body before the boy slammed himself
against the bars with a madly amused smirk; dragging the man's
cup against the bars to agitate both the inmates and the guards.
"Oh, Boss! Me mates got some aches!" Jackie would yell at the
top of his lungs; repeatedly calling for the guards until they
had come to drag the man's body from behind the cage.
In do time the boy had come to have quite the bittersweet
reputation amongst the prison population. They had tried
isolation, but, the boy had a nasty ability of vomiting up tools
of his own escape; of which he would use to merely subdue and
agitate the guards until put back into the populous. Never
attempting to escape the walls despite his skills as he would
attract the ill intent of all the lords of the yard. All those
corrupters who had kept these souls damned would find themselves
after the boy: only to meet their demise.
All the while, he would be seen playing cards and endorsing the
growth of those who tried to help themselves in these walls. He
certainly was an oddity... They had come to know him as The
Hangman; given the way most of those fell before him. Using
their strength against them as he would wrap himself around them
and silence them with a single snap of bone. Yet... Never
silencing those who were simply being manipulated by those who
were powerful. He could see who had true, dark, intent and who
were simply scared. "Don't worry, June... The Sun will rise
soon.." He would say to those being used as they would pass out
from their injuries he would leave on them; like a harsh lesson
to be learned.
Despite all this... Temptation brewing in his belly... Making
him become the weapon... Also more human.. More like him... He
couldn't die... He couldn't sleep... He couldn't dream... Soon
they would begin pushing through into his conscious mind in
those long nights as he paced his cell. He would see... Himself.
Face painted and Temptation in hand... Though, he had went by a
different name.. One Jackie had forsaken a long time ago.. "N'
who are you supposed to be?" Jackie would mutter to the copy
with a blatant, anxious, scoff.
"Oh, I'm everything you fear and hate, Jackie..." The boy only
sitting upon Jackie's bed as Jackie would pace; glaring as he
refused to sit beside him. "Mean my weakness, mate?" The skull
faced boy would only laugh at Jackie's reply and shook his head
in disapproval. "Neglect is more like it..." Even Jackie a bit
amused by this, but, he did not want this mutual amusement seen
as he turned his form to look out of the bars. "Yeah. Bout
right." The boy only cooing as he slowly got up; using
Temptation as his balancer. "Don't you miss it, Jackie? Don't
you miss me? We had some fun times, right? All those shows with
mum?"
Though, Jackie's eyes soon began to glare as the reflection grew
closer to him. Immediately turning around as he pushed the boy
back to the bed; snatching the false Temptation from his hand.
"No! You don't get to talk about her, Michael! You let her kill
herself while you did nothing! All you worried about was how
hungry you were and where you would sleep! But, did you ever
stop and think about everything she had to think about!? Did
you!?" Jackie glared harshly as he pointed the scythe at the
reflection; wielding with an unrelenting need to sever the
creature's head. Yet, he couldn't. The boy only laughing in
reply as he used a finger to tip the blade away from his face;
looking to Jackie. "You tell me." Though, with that, Jackie's
mind had felt a moment of focus as he was reminded how much he
hated this boy before him. Without another moment he pulled the
scythe back; preparing a swing. "These are my Temptations,
Michael. Not yours." He spoke harshly as he drove the blade
true; the two reflections simply disappearing into smoke as they
collide with one another.
The following morning the guards had approached Jackie's cage
with a faint rattle of their night stick against the bars. Only
Jackie's eyes opening as they glared from the very corner.
"Yeah, Boss?" He spoke to the guard with a bit more patience
than normal as the man chuckled in reply. "Finally settling
down, huh? Shame, because the courts have decided to execute a
certain John Doe murderer today." With that even Jackie chuckled
in reply. "Kill a man for a crime he didn't do, eh, Boss?" The
guard only scoffed at those words and rolled his eyes. "Even if
that were true, Jackie.. Do you realize how many men you killed
in here? How many injured? Including guards?" Jackie only
smirked in reply, yet, it was not quite a friendly one. "I
thought you appreciated my work, Boss." Though, once more, the
guard scoffed; choosing not to answer his statement. "I came to
ask about a last meal, Jackie..."
Jackie pondered the question. He had lasts of a lot of things,
but, certainly never a meal. It seemed odd to him, really. His
eyes drifting away from the guard with a sigh as he looked to
the ceiling. Speaking in a bit of a distracted tone. "Well...
Not much of an eater... But, how bout this, Boss... You get that
pretty little thing in the infirmary to pull the trigger?" Even
the guard chuckled a bit at the request. Nodding a bit as he
thought it over. "We'll see what we can do." He spoke as he
turned and walked away; Jackie only muttering out. "You're a
real mate, Boss."
Soon, the guards had been interrupting his game of poker with
the boys. "Mmn… Come on. My last game, Boss. I coulda won big!"
Jackie exclaimed to the guards, but, they only sighed in reply
as they were not willing to wait. "I don't think you'll be
needing those cigarettes where you're goin' Jackie." Jackie only
laughing in reply. "Oh, who knows?" Jackie finally getting up to
satisfy their impatience, and the other players, as games with
Jackie tended to get... Tense. The guards guiding the boy off
into a rarely used part of the prison that contained a single
electric chair in the center of a room; rows of seats ahead of
it like a chapel. "Huh... I was not picturing electric chair."
He said with an actually pleased smirk; which had put the guards
a bit... Off.
"Well.. Whatever makes your sick mind happy, Jack." The guard
said as the nurse had finally made her way in. "Am I late?"
Though, Jackie was the first to reply with a wide, soft, smile.
"Just on time, love." The guard grabbing Jackie's cuffs as
protocol. "A little early, actually.. Let's get you strapped in,
Jackie." With that they had moved over to the chair. The nurse
was eager to move in. "Please, sir. With this boy's reputation,
if he wanted to hurt me, he would have... Now... Get nice and
comfy, Jackie. I'd hate for your last seat to be a pain." Her
smile was kind and soothing as Jackie listened without question
to her kindness. The guard was surprised immensely by how
cooperative he was being as he slid his hands into the locking
mechanisms for her after being uncuffed and all. "Anything you
would like to say before all this, Jackie?" The nurse said to
him softly as the guard waited by the trigger to release the
shock; the wet sponge soaking Jackie's head. "Mmn… Don't drink
from the watering hole..." Was all Jackie could think to mutter
as the nurse nodded to the guard.
She had taken a few steps back as that massive surge was sent
flying through the boy's entire body. As his body had twitched
and jumped he could feel every cell of Temptation breaking down
inside of his bloodstream. Spreading throughout his body as it
carried the current throughout him like super conductors. A mad
laughter escaping his lips as the electricity could be seen in
his eyes. He could speak no words, but, only laugh as it soon
became a gurgle: masses of black ooze foaming from the boy's
mouth before his body was suddenly burst into flames. These
flames burning a deep, intense, purple for just a moment before
his body had gone limp within the wooden frame of the chair:
leaving his burnt corps to somehow... Fall to ash within the
grips of the clasps. Leaving the guard and nurse left only in
awe at the sight.
#Post#: 410565--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jackie's Odd Jobs
DIR By: Evil Kitty
Date: March 21, 2020, 8:36 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
EPISODE 12: THE HANGMAN'S HEED ("Stealin'" by Uriah Heep)
THE HANGED MAN
The boy had been sleeping soundly despite the dreams that dwell
within' that darkened mind... Images of blackened soldiers, near
infinite in numbers, filing up into neat, organized, lines as
they stood in wait. Taking their turns as one stood ahead of
every line; instructing them to their destination. A heavy
gallows of which soldier after soldier would fall before Jackie.
Watching the bodies pile atop one another as they continued to
file in; accepting their fate as the next to hang as their duty.
"No, stop!" The boy would call out to them, though, only the
hangman would turn to the boy with a hearty laugh. Drawing his
many swords aside the many gallows. "As you wish..." The
distorted voices would say in unison to reply to the poor boy;
cutting the ropes to every noose. Though, with this notion, the
only thing that was met was disorder. Every soldier had bent
over and begun to let out unruly screams; distorting and mixing
between their massive numbers as it had pierced Jackie's every
sense. Forcing the boy to try to cover ears and scream in pain
at the, near cybernetic, screeching.
Of course, this had not lasted long as he was met with a loud,
painful, slap in his own... Home. "Jackie!" A very annoyed
Mistress standing above him as he awoke; rubbing her own hand
from the soreness of the impact as Beth and Billie had watched
with curiosity to the boy's nightmare. "If you have nightmares
every time you die, then, maybe you should stop dying!" She
exclaimed with an impatient tone in her voice as the boy was
beginning to sit up; rubbing his cheek in a bit of disapproval
at the hitting. "Did you really have to smack me...?" Beth was
quick to jump in. "I was gonna have Billie push you into the
Arctic Circle." Though, Billie only shook his head with a
suppressed mumble; bumping Beth's arm at the rude comment.
"Thanks, guys... Real mates.." The boy had said with a bit of a
bitter detachment lingering within his own words. Even his eyes
averting them all as he looked down to his own, bare, hands. An
annoyed, forced, smile slipping upon his lips to cover his rush
to leave their company. "Need a touch up, hun?" Mistress spoke
softly, feeling Jackie's isolation as she slipped her arm gently
over the boy's shoulder. Jackie only letting out a sigh in
return. "I guess I do..." The woman giving a bittersweet gesture
in return as she began unbuttoning the boy's shirt for him.
"Well, then. Let's get you situated."
Billie was quick to cover Beth's eyes as layers of clothes had
found their way to the floor; leaving Jackie's body bare and
laid out upon the image of a table. "Hey! I wanna see!"
Mistress' old tribal tools for marking in hand as she sat atop
the boy. Carving his flesh dot after dot for what had felt like
hours to them, but, what was time to creatures like them? Once
he would leave this place it would be a brand new morning and he
felt no exhaustion. So, he sat... His shame free for his
comrades to see as Mistress carved it full of the bone's of
Death on every portion of the boy's body. Leaving only his face
as he finally put his clothes back on: soon to be painted in
itself.
"So where to, then?" Mistress spoke as she had wiped her hands
down upon a stray bit of cloth; looking the reborn Jackie over.
The boy still averting her eyesight as he picked his cane from
the table. "I... We'll see." Though, she did not much appreciate
the answer, she accepted it with a kind gesture. "Fair enough,
hun." The boy only mustering as close to a smile as he could in
return as he looked away from them all with a bit of impatience.
Something was still... Off. Misplaced. "Time to go." He said
with a sigh as he simply walked; slicing an exit with the cane
in his grip. Hearing a growl from the cane as it forced itself
into a scythe before he had entered the blackened portal. "Mmn…"
All eyes on his hesitation as he pondered Temptation's worries.
Deeming them pointless worries as he wandered into his new life.
He found his heavy boots resting into the light sand of the
mountain ranges of Azazel once more... Yet, this time.. He could
hear his music being played out aloud with the boulder pushed
away from the entrance higher up in the hills through the winds
blowing the sands before his eyes. Though.. It wasn't one of his
songs.. Even one of his artists. A glare crossing over his
lightening eyes as his mind wandered: who was tampering with his
hallowed ground?
Using the long handle of the scythe to guide him through the
sands he begins his way to the entrance. Climbing those steep,
sliding, hills as the dry winds would sear his eyes with every
move. Finally reaching that large boulder... A loud laugh being
heard just above the entrance. "Finally here, I see." Jackie
looking around with a faint glare, though, unable to see the
origin of the man's collected voice. "This isn't my music..."
Jackie put blatantly as his eyes continued to scan the area
around him.
The laugh of the man only grew louder. "That's it? No, 'You have
trespassed on my sacred land?' or 'Who are you?'" The man spoke
as he grew closer; his image beginning to clear in the harsh,
sandy, winds. His form that of nothing special, though, his
clothes were adorned with honor, rank, and wealth. A cautious
glare persisting over Jackie's eyes, yet, he seemed ill prepared
to fight; merely holding the scythe at his side as he saw the
long, silver, sword dangling at this man's waist. "It's a pub,
mate. Not a church... But, you touched my line-up."
The man could only sigh now; putting his forehead within his
hand in a defeated gesture. "Well... Do you enjoy it?" The man
dropping his skull with a shrug of a gesture for the boy; having
no idea where to go from here. This boy certainly was an oddity.
Jackie only smirking in reply. "Not bad.. But, you aren't here
for music.. You're the reaper of murder." Though, the man seemed
a bit offended by Jackie's words. A groan escaping his lips.
"Mmn… Such an ugly word.. I am murder no more than you are
suicide, my boy..." The man finally reaching down as he pulled
that long, silver, rapier from his belt; having no sheath for
the beast of a blade as it shined in the dessert sun through the
storm. "I am Rapier... Execution. And you are Jackie: self
destruction." The man spoke with a respectful bow; dragging the
tip of his blade through the sand.
Jackie was growing very uncomfortable, and very quickly. His
eyes following that shimmering blade with absolute precision as
he began to bring Temptation up to his face; attempting to snort
the shed skin from the blade only to have it blown by the winds.
A growl escaping Jackie's throat. "So, wh--" Though, his words
were cut short as that sword had plunged forward through the
sand. Jackie barely able to dodge the blade from sheer nerves as
the blade was mere centimeters from his cheek; disappearing into
the sand just as quickly as it had struck. "To teach, Jackie...
The song, friend... All my time stealing... None giving.. So, to
you... I give my sword!"
The man would laugh as his body moved in like a strike of
lightning. Jackie's eyes going wide as he had attempted to dodge
every sweeping blow. Both Jackie and Temptation growing mixed up
and conflicted with one another as they would attempt to block
in opposite directions as the man would aim high; then low. One
side, then another, with lightning fast blows, like a cage of
moving blades. "Damn it!" Jackie would call out as he would
stumble on his feet; feeling the blades grow closer as slice
after slice began to find themselves upon his clothes. "Knock it
off!"
Though, the man only laughed at the boy's pitiful calls for a
halt. "Is that it, Jackie!? 'Stop!? I can't handle this!?' What
a disappointment! First blade wielder I get and he doesn't know
how to use it!" The man laughed and mocked as his strikes grew
closer. One reckless misplacement causing Jackie's cheek to get
a small slice upon the flesh; only for his eyes to go wide. In
that moment, Temptation and himself becoming unified in one
cause. To survive. Jackie slamming the hilt of the scythe
straight into the sand in front of him as he had taken the
oncoming onslaught of slashes; only being nicked by a few.
Realizing Rapier's game he spun Temptation like a large clock
before him to capture the reaper's long rapier in the spin. In
that moment the very handle of Temptation unlocking into
interchained parts that would wrap around the blade's edges like
a snake with enough force for the skull atop Temptation's blade
to meet Rapier's skull with a harsh headbutt; severing him from
the hilt of the blade.
Jackie groaned in aggravation as the storm began to clear and he
flicked Temptation in his grip; causing it to drop the rapier
from it's grip and into the sand. "Woulda been nice to know ya
could do that, mate.." Slowly pulling into a unified scythe once
more as Jackie could stare this new reaper in the face as the
winds had stopped; the man still laughing a bit at how he had
been outwitted. "Well played, Jackie boy! Well played!" The boy
letting out a sigh as he looked down over himself; seeing the
small cuts over his body. To any human sure to be nothing, but,
to him, they were fatal. They would simply take time to bleed
out. Kicking the sword coldly over to the man, who had caught it
with no difficulty. "... Comin' in for some drinks?"
Though, the boy did not wait for an answer or help the man up.
He didn't have time for courtesy today. Maybe that was a lesson
for another day and another friend. Today? He would drink with
his enemies and ask of their help. Maybe then they will be his
ally. The man only smirking as he could see through Jackie's
cold sentiment. Struggling his way up in the sand as he cleared
off his suit; slipping the blade within his belt. "I'd be
delighted, my boy." To which they had spent the rest of this
night reminiscing upon stories of the deaths of death.
#Post#: 410567--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jackie's Odd Jobs
DIR By: Evil Kitty
Date: March 23, 2020, 3:24 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
EPISODE 13: THE SECOND DEATH ("Sneak Out" by Exet 7)
DEATH
Jackie stumbled in his usual stupor; seeming to be in the middle
of nowhere. Simply following an endless road encompassed by
empty plots of land that were once, perhaps, a wide field. As
his cane clicked and his feet merely carried him that sweet
scented cigarette burned slow between his lips. His mind
pondering over life lost. Those who dedicated their lives to
bringing joy to man, but, found it cut short... And those who
led their life wicked, yet... He had not met. Though, his mind
seemed absent to the fury he did, indeed, feel towards it. Only
buried deep in the subduing smoke as Temptation would be his
eyes for him.
With his companions guidance, he had found his vision clearing
before a lone, forgotten, church along this infinite stretch of
dirt road. Jackie's eyes wandering over the building as he
couldn't help, but, to feel a sense of.. Loss. Maybe even
companionship. It had come separated from it's people, and
perhaps, even it's faith. What else of a life did this old wood
call for? Temptation, though quiet, immitted a chilling black
smoke from it's beak gripped within the boy's palm. Jackie quick
to notice with a huff of curiosity as he tapped the tip of the
cane to the front door: slowly pushing the flimsy wood open.
"Hope you know what you're doin'..." He spoke absentmindedly to
Temptation, though, the cane gave no answer, or response. Making
his way within the walls he had looked to see the, still
present, water by the door. He was unsure of the customs. Be it
holy water or just some odd practice, though, it made him a bit
uncomfortable; seeming to be the one thing untainted in this
whole building. Tempting to taste or to touch. "I shouldn't..."
He said as he was quick to free himself from the water's trance.
There had been two isles of several large benches in a row;
leaving three paths for the boy to walk down. He stopped at the
back of the benches as he took a moment to take in the time that
had taken hold on this building. On the right side of the
chapel, against the wall, was the ruined stalls of where the
choir once stood. Praising their words. He sighed as he worried
as to where that led them. Yet, on the left wall, more choir
stands, and they remained strong and intact through time. Their
words having enforced the wood they stood on.
Of course, that left Jackie with one other path to take... The
path down the center and direct to the chapel. The one watched
by their messiah: nailed upon his exhausted passion. Jackie
cringed at this concept and gripped to the cane in his hand.
Gathering his courage as he would take those leading steps
forward down this path. Yet... He could not. Those eyes growing
heavy as that cross seemed to hold over him and weigh down his
very form with every step closer. With a grunt of submission; he
was forced to be seated four rows away from the massive alter.
This angered the boy as he sat there; his cane tapping to the
floor to find it's hold as he pondered the image he glared to.
The child of god. The one man who claims to have pulled himself
back from Death. Not only that, but, claims he can bring back
the dead! Jackie slammed his cane to the floor with violent
intent as he roared out his words; breaking the silence he has
kept thus far. "Bull! We don't get it back!" Now, accusingly,
pointing the vulture head of the cane towards the quiet messiah;
who's head stood bowed in suffering.
A small huff came into the room along with the faint creaking of
the door behind Jackie. A man, not to dissimilar to himself, had
wandered in quietly. Jackie, of course, seeming instantly
curious. Though, quiet, as to see if the man could see him or
not. Clad in pure white dress clothes and hair slicked back in a
dull silver coat; the man simply stopped by the water. His pure
blue eyes fixating on the beautiful ripples. Smiling as he had
cupped his palms in the water; using it to gently wipe over his
face and make a faint cross motion over his chest.
Turning away as he remained silent; using the access of the
water to keep his hair tidy as he made his way down the right
side of the chapel. His eyes taking a moment to admire the toll
left by time on his way to the center. That of which grew
Jackie's eyes wide. Watching the man kneel before the alter and
kiss upon it. He clenched tightly to Temptation as it struggled
to remain quiet; feeling the boy's frustrations.
Though, the man was quick to stand as he had began to leave down
the center isle; stopping four rows out. Directly aside from
Jackie as he had sat in the opposite row of benches instead.
"... And you know that for sure, Michael?" The man spoke those
words so gently to the boy, yet, it inspired such wrath in him.
Forcing Jackie to a stand. "Jackie! The name is Jackie! Got
it!?" He pointed the scythe in blatant threats, though, the man
only shook his head with a sigh. "I never called you that. You
called yourself that."
The man crossed his legs as he was patient with his words; his
kind smile never fading. Soon to wear on Jackie's hostile intent
as he seemed to know the boy. That cane dropping down to his
side in his grip with an angered huff as he looked around;
swinging his arms about to illustrate his words. "What's this,
mate!? What'cha want!? Who in bloody hell are ya!?" He could
only question as the man chuckled in reply to the words. "Well,
it's been my experience you're supposed to kill something. That
is what you do, isn't it?" The man looked to the boy with a sly
smirk at his words.
Those words, on the other hand, didn't settle Jackie's mind in
the least. "Kill something!?" Is all he could yell as he picked
up the cane and pace between the benches. "This bloody thing
won't even talk to me! And kill who!? There's just you and me,
mate! And I'm pretty sure you're in my head!" Jackie exclaimed
violently as he slapped the cane onto the bench; making that
point known as he looked to the man. Who only smiled as a
returned gesture. "You think of me an illusion?" The man
patiently awaited the boy's response; his eyes never shying from
the boy's angry glares.
"Oh yeah, mate! Only way you can know that name! Get rid of the
paint and tats... That's my face, mate! No God! No Death! Just a
bloody picture show!" The boy started laughing madly towards the
man; seeming inebriated in his own delusion. The man, though
still smiling, seemed to lose a bit of his kindness in return to
the boy's answer. It was a bittersweet, knowing, smile that
prepared him for what was to come. "... Very well.." The man
spoke in a somber voice as he slowly rose from that bench in
front of the boy.
This very rising brew hesitation and fear in Jackie as he seemed
to freeze; watching the man. "... Then, you will bare your marks
upon bone for this life's entirety... Until you end it.." The
boy unable to speak as the man grew close. His pure, cleaned,
hands reaching up to clench to Jackie's skull: taking it into
his grip. As he did so Temptation howled with an intense pain
for all to hear; releasing a small stream of black liquid from
it's eye sockets like tears. This stream forming ink that would
infect his tattoos: sear them and inscribe them with the writing
of The Divine Comedy. He would learn of Dante and his journey
into the underworld; in every life he lives. As a scar of the
ignorance he displayed.
"Goodbye..." The man called out as Jackie's mind began to grow
fuzzy and blinded by the searing pain. Temptation's beak opening
from it's own calls as it began to now drool a blackened mass
that would begin to pool over Jackie from his feet up. Giving
the man his last moments to speak softly one more time. ".. Sail
safely..." Those words seeming lost as the pool had taken over
Jackie and his trusted companion once more.
#Post#: 410568--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jackie's Odd Jobs
DIR By: Evil Kitty
Date: March 26, 2020, 7:26 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
EPISODE 14: THE FIBBERS' MUTINY ("Dante's Prayer" by Loreena
McKennit)
TEMPERANCE
Jackie had took his first steps onto that grass cliff-side with
a bit of distaste for the harsh winds the blow against his back;
rustling the forest that had trapped his sight to this large
meadow. A harsh rumble drawing his attention towards Temptation
as the beast of a cane did not enjoy this place. His beak prying
open as it drooled it's metal coating: covering the wood as it
shrunk into itself upon Jackie's hand once more. "Not again..."
The boy grumbled out as he held the shifting mass in his fist.
Opening it to reveal a small... Pen.
The very sight of the instrument aggravated the boy. Feeling
offended as he held it high up into the air to get a good look
at it. "Mate! I can't even read!" He groaned out harshly;
pulling it to his face to look closely. Only to now let out an
even more annoyed laugh. Throwing his hands about; as if wanting
to throw the thing. "N' it ain't got ink!" Though the vulture
insignia, still present on the pen, glowed with a ominous red in
it's eyes; a thick shot of stray black ink shooting from the pen
and 'accidently' into the boy's face.
Though the boy had groaned as he wiped his face with his black
shirt; he had used the time to gain his composure. "Give ya that
one, mate..." Is all he could say as he realized he was the
wielder: slipping the pen into his pocket as he looked around
once more. Spotting a stray home, seeming to double as a
torch-lit lighthouse, towards the near end of the cliff. Feeling
Temptation growl in agreement with Jackie as the boy promptly
smacked his pocket. "Knock it off. Not in the pocket." Making
his point known as he made his way, clear of face, towards the
large lighthouse upon the cliffside.
Yet, before the boy had even gotten close to the home, the doors
had opened. A rather elderly man stepping from the doors in
loose dressings as he spoke in a welcoming tone. "Oh! Why,
hello, my boy!" Jackie was put a bit off by the sudden outburst
of speech from the man's appearance. "'Ey there, ol' man." The
boy spoke with a bit of curiosity only for the man to nearly
gasp out of his slippers. "Goodness, my boy! Who taught you how
to speak!? Come in, come in!" The man spoke hurriedly as he
turned himself around; reentering his home through the bottom of
the lighthouse.
Jackie could only laugh as he followed with a shrug; unable to
answer what the man had asked from his rush. Though, the boy's
smile was soon to grow a bit more serious as he was brought
through the very bottom of the tall lighthouse: noticing the
noose tied to the center beams of the top of the tower. This was
certainly no murder. His eyes changing as he followed the man
into a quaint little library of a home: shelves stocked with
books and antiques of ages left behind. "Sit, my boy!" The man
nearly demanded as Jackie chuckled; ending his admiration of the
objects and taking his seat.
"Very swag pad, mate. What'cha want with me?" Jackie now said,
with a bit of intent behind his bad grammar this time around.
The man practically crying out in distaste for the dialect;
needing to pour himself and Jackie a cup of tea. "Well, you see,
my dear boy. I, myself, have always made it a goal to master the
art of the word... And, hopefully, teach that art unto others."
The man spoke steadily as his hands would shake the tray;
bringing it over to sit it before the boy. Who was prompt in
joining the man in tea.
"So... A teach is it? Ya wanna work out my kinks, professor?"
The man laughed a bit at Jackie's words this time; taking the
seat next to him as he scooted it a bit closer to the boy. "Oh,
you say it so harshly. I simply wish to teach you my dialect,
friend. Not change you." The man spoke so lightly as Jackie
smiled in reply. Holding up his glass in a bit of an amused,
cheering, notion. "Right, mate. To learnin'." The man was all
the eager to make that cheer as those glasses clicking had
echoed through the halls.
It had taken a lot of patience and frustrations for the boy to
even get past his alphabets, given his previous education. It
had been a taxing journey that had pointed out every aspect and
flaw in himself he knew not existence. It went by the mantle of
ignorance; spoke the words of this teacher. Jackie wished to
destroy this word. Yet, no body of Temptation, he worried, could
do so. Leaving him only with his mind as he argued with his
teacher. "Never gonna do this, Z! I just... I don't do all this
pish posh bull!" The boy would yell.
Yet, the man would only sigh and let out a bit of an amused
chuckle. Taking the boy by both the shoulders to see him in the
eyes. See the soul that he knew still lied within: one that was
growing. "You are learning, Jackie... I know this because I see
this.. Every day. One day you will be able to read those
writings on your arms and your legs... I even believe you may
just write even stronger words, one day." The man spoke strongly
to the boy; his eyes never shying away as Jackie stared back to
him. Though, still frustrated, he could only scoff his troubles
away. He could not let this man be wrong.
Soon, as the man had told, Jackie had moved from just learning
to trial and error: practice. He used that pen of his as he
wrote story after story of characters met. Lives lived. A
colorful tale of a heroic phoenix with rainbow feathers; plagued
to lose one with every reincarnation. It had seemed the more the
boy had wrote, the more he had gotten of the words he had
practiced and researched. Though, the man, on the other hand,
had seemed to be growing tired and weary with every passing
passage.
Finally, the man had wandered in on Jackie scribbling madly into
a book the man had designed special for him: depicting a large
'V' upon the hard cover. The shaky man struggling his way over
to Jackie as he had placed his hands upon the boy's shoulders in
a soft embrace. They were as light as air; unfelt by Jackie's
determination to finish those last words. This man speaking to
Jackie in a faint whisper: the strongest tone he could manage at
the time. "Goodbye and good job, my boy..." The man would say as
he would turn from the boy; wandering his way into the next
room.
Though, just as Jackie had finished that last word he had heard
the loud thud of the rope's slam. His eyes going wide as gravity
had taken effect on both souls today: Temptation growling in
satisfaction as the complete book lay before him. Turning to see
that old man's spirit slowly climbing the stairs of his
lighthouse. Jackie's eyes seeming to water, yet, they did not
cry as they watched the swaying figure. Simply looking down to
his arm as he felt a burn upon a single passage... "Goodbye,
Xavier. And may your tree be forever fruitful..." He spoke as
his few words of wisdom.
#Post#: 410569--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jackie's Odd Jobs
DIR By: Evil Kitty
Date: March 27, 2020, 4:45 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
EPISODE 15: THE BURNING BUSH ("Burn The Witch" by Shawn James)
THE DEVIL
So the boy had, once more, found himself lost in time and in
himself. Dwelling within those meadows of kingdoms of old as
Temptation's tendrils dug into his flesh: fueling his numbness
with the delights of modern man. His eyes drifting as they
wandered over the mass of color that was the flowery meadow: a
soft smile crossing over his lips. He could picture it. His
mother delicately walking through the colors in her loose,
frayed, clothes. Simply watching as he could not muster the
strength to move his bones to join her in picking the flowers.
Yet, as she had noticed him, the cane was quick to pull it's
attachment from the boy with an annoyed grumble; Jackie watching
as his mother ran to him so happily. Soon, this illusion being
disturbed as he heard the words his mother spoke. "Excuse me!?
Are you okay!? Who are you!?" She cried out in an endless series
of questioning. Though, Jackie could only see the familiarity of
his mother's face. Had she forgotten him? "Y-Ya... Don't
remember me..?" The boy spoke with a shattered heart as he
looked to the woman.
This figure had looked around, worriedly, as she puzzled the
skull faced boy before her. At such a time. She was a doctor
during the witch hunts and sickness was thick in the air; there
was no room for such a boy. Though, how could she ignore such a
sorry condition? The woman merely sighing in reply as she
wrapped her arm around the boy. "Here... Come with me..."
Despite all the worry and concern, the boy seemed comforted by
the embrace from the image of his lost mother. "Mmm... Thought
I'd never smell June again..." He stated in his stupor; the
woman merely helping to lift him as they walked in his oblivion.
Soon, they would be arriving to a home on the outskirts, though
not by far, of the city; built into the bedding of a small hill.
The woman panted with exhaustion as they arrived in front of the
home. Looking to Jackie with a faint glare. "Now let's get
inside!" The woman had yelled, though, Jackie seemed hurt
instantly by this. His eyes seeming to shift. "I'm sorry... I
di'n't wanna upset ya... But, can we stay in the van instead..?
I don't like the motels.." He would mutter before looking down
to see his hands; they were free of illusion. The marks of his
death still remaining as he remembered. The boy looking up with
a smile as he managed to pull from her; catching himself barely
with the cane. "Actually... Guide the way."
The boy said, almost convincingly to his sobriety, though, his
form could still barely maintain it's posture as he relied
solely on that cane. Yet, the woman did not want to fight with
the boy's illusions. He needed, first, to cure what was causing
them; whatever that may be. With that she let out a huff. "This
way." She did just that; guiding the plagued child within her
home and sat him upon her table. The boy only chuckling in
reply. "I dun think this'll make a good bed, ma."
Though, the woman would merely shirk off the boy's smart
responses and cute gestures. She was in no time to play mother
or grow attached to this boy; a sure link to witch craft. Yet,
his body was so interesting. With one test after another, new
secrets were revealed. He could not age, yet, he was always
dead. Somehow still living; only the blood flow the real
component of his mortality it seemed. Even a hair follicle
removed from the flow would dry and fall to ash within seconds.
"Figurin' it out, ma?" He would ask, day by day, between his
adoring gestures and compliments. "No, Mikey... Not quite yet..
But, we're working on it." She would say to please the infantile
boy. Only for her to pay with his need to grow ever stronger.
"Well, I bet ya will, cuz, you're the smartest, ma." He would
say with a childish laugh as it sent a shivering feeling down
her spine. All this time harboring this child, trying to cure
his illness, she may have just developed her own illness. A
sense of attachment for this strange, skull faced, boy.
Yet, it had seemed this attachment had come too late for the
both of them as the loud stampede of horses were heard gathering
before the home's from yard; surrounded by the silent forest.
"Mikey! Hide!" The woman would yell as Jackie's eyes grew wide
in his innocence; leaving his cane upon the table as he jumped
from it. Though, not making it far as the door was kicked in by
a heavy, iron, boot. "Pardon the intrusion, ma'am. But, we are
ordered to arrest your guest in suspicion of black magic... And
you should count yourself lucky to be the last living physician
around here." The soldier spoke with a hearty glare as four men
had charged into the small home: destroying the shelves on their
way inside.
They made efficient work of pulling the screaming boy from the
small home as tears streamed from his eyes. "Mum! Mum, help me!
What are they doin' with me!?" He would yell back to her as she
struggled to hold back her own tears; standing within the
doorway of her destroyed home. Her hand reaching over to clench
the boy's cane harshly to her chest as she watched them carry
him away. Feeling his pain flow through her like a violent
river; released with flaps of heavy wings.
She could only take her misery for so long after they had
disappeared into the forest and the sun had fallen. It would not
be long now. She couldn't just sit there. The cane still buried
deep in her breast as she ran forth; her feet carrying her
towards the large empire. A, once beautiful, kingdom, now
plagued with power, backwards moral, and sickness.
She had stopped in that barren courtyard that had seen the
deaths of so many of her colleagues; the very idea bringing,
once numbed, tears to her eyes as Temptation silently brooded in
her embrace. Now seeing that boy, she had grown to, perhaps,
love tied to that massive stake plunged within the center of the
courtyard: the one thing to persist every burning. Finally
hearing that speech she had heard so many times before. "Today
we have gathered before us to address the sinners and the
falsifiers! The liars! These witches, and their filthy
practices, bring with them sickness and despair! We must purge
ourselves of these impurities if we are to become men of
righteous and good decent! We must burn the witch!"
The man with the torch would yell as the boy would stand, tied
to his post, bruised and battered. His eyes gently looking up as
he had noticed that familiar face one more time. This face
bringing a wide smile to his own as his eyes began to water; a
single tear running down his cheek. Whispering softly; knowing
she could hear over the crowd's chants. "I'm glad ya came, ma.."
Of which the woman couldn't help but to feel her own eyes
draining those salty tears. "Wouldn't miss it, Mikey..." She
tried her best to be soothing in her shaky whisper.
"Now we burn!" Yelled the man ceremonially as he held the torch
high, before placing it below Jackie's feet. "No!" The woman
called as she clutched the cane tighter, but, she knew it was
pointless as the flammable oils had lit like the night sky:
engulfing the boy's body. Pulling him from his delusions: cast
into a world of fire and pain. Though, he did not weep nor
groan. Instead, a made laughter erupting from the boy that
echoed through the dead field: the flame growing ever hotter.
"Mikey, stop!" Is all the woman could yell, but, it fell on deaf
ears as the flames grew an ominous flare of black and purple:
flowing freely in their intense burn. Temptation now growling
openly in the woman's grip, for all to hear, as her eyes went
wide. All the pain the boy had felt as these flames scorched him
forced up into a massive vulture, forged from the flame. This
blackened fire bird flying over the crowd as it's body had
crashed into the woman: forcing the union of their demise, and
the demise of the others as he burned. Her body shaking and
weaving, to only collapse as Temptation fell to dust in her
grip; the boy's body erupting outwards into a puff of ash that
would extinguish every torch in the kingdom.
#Post#: 410570--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jackie's Odd Jobs
DIR By: Evil Kitty
Date: March 27, 2020, 9:20 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
EPISODE 16: THE SALT'S RETURN ("Falling Apart" by Captives)
THE TOWER
Jackie had an amused smirk upon his cleaned face as he had
exited that blackened mass unto a mass of a new kind; looking to
the smooth cruise ship floor planks under his heavy boots. He
couldn't help, but, to let out a laugh of pure celebration as
the sun shined bright on him and his companion: making haste to
the very front of the ship as it sliced through the water.
Though, Temptation could do nothing, but, growl and grumble in
warning to the boy's enthusiasm: who clearly heard none of the
beasts attempts.
The patrons the boy passed quick to jump out of his way with a
show of surprise and yells. "Hey! Watch out, buddy!" They would
yell, but, Jackie could notice nothing. Not even of the fact
that every man and woman on this very ship could see his face as
he ran with such glee. Finally arriving to the tip of the deck
as the boy had let out an ecstatic shriek; looking off to the
sunset just prying above the wide, blue, sea and painting it a
faint orange. "It's gorgeous!" He yelled as he ran forward;
leaning over the rail to get a better look of each crashing wave
against the steel sides of the ship.
Admiring the violent, yet serene, smashing of whites, blues, and
oranges with every crash against the boat: Jackie had heard a
hearty laugh. "Well, if that isn't an artists' stance, I've
never met one!" This voice had caught Jackie off guard, causing
him to stand to see the man: coated in his captain's attire and
a kind smile. Jackie only, somewhat shyly, chuckling in reply as
he turned back to the sea; a bit less enthusiastic. "Ya think?
Always wanted to be a sailor, sir. Just got pulled into muddier
waters.." The boy spoke with a bit of contemplation before he
turned back to face the captain.
Though, this captain could only laugh in reply to Jackie's
words. "What's your name, boy?" Jackie slowly breaking his
numbing posture with a kind smile. "Jackie. And your's, Cap?"
The captain removing his cap for just a moment as he had given
the boy a fraction of a respectful bow; a sly smirk upon his
face. "As Nicholas, Captain of the vessel, La Juin, I would like
to offer you a personal tour from one hearty to another." Jackie
could only laugh in reply to the man. Not just a simple,
humored, laugh that would be felt with a bad joke. No. This man
had touched the boy's soul and taught him that irony did not
always have to taste bitter. Forcing his vision to blur as they
watered with his own bow; speaking in reply. "I'd be honored,
mate."
With that the boy had followed the man from morning unto night.
Within that time they had witnessed and explained every inch of
this ship. The man had seemed to make it a goal to give this boy
enough knowledge to operate his own full crew if he truly needed
to. It truly brought an inner joy to the boy to experience tying
those knots and tightening those sails. Learning to read and
adjust the meters that controlled course, speed, and heat. It
was everything Jackie needed it to be, though, it would not last
forever; as with all things.
The captain finally tapping the boy upon the shoulder as he
spoke to the boy in an equally pleased, though exhausted, tone.
"Well, Jackie. I hope now you know what you need to find your
way out of those waters, friend." The boy only chuckling as he
could feel Temptation, who he had been ignoring all day, growing
more and more aggressive by the moment. Using his second hand to
cover the cane; using his instability as a guise. "Sure it will,
mate... Now you best get back.. Can't have a tired captain, can
we?" The man merely laughing as he waved the boy off; making his
way down the deck. "Fair enough, my boy."
That very night Jackie was left with no room to pretend as if he
could actually sleep... He was given no food to pretend as if he
could actually eat... As he wandered those decks he had come to
realize he wasn't even supposed to be on that ship on this
night. This thought pulling his eyes to the moon as it reflected
over the blackened, emptiness, of the sea. He wondered as he
looked at the two. The moon that hung high up into the sky and
the one that seemed to be an agitated, rippling, reflection upon
the water's surface. He wondered... Which was the illusion?
As if dropping molten lava into a block of ice; those words did
scarring damage to the fantasy that was being played out around
him. A faint groan escaping Jackie's lips as he had looked down
to his cane; lifting it up into the moonlight to get a better
view. "We gotta go, mate..." He spoke with a mixing sense of
distaste and determination towards that very goal. Yet, it
wasn't quite this easy. Somebody on this ship was his target...
But, the only one he met was the captain, and, Temptation had
been upset well before then.. Unless...
With that thought in mind, Jackie had ran into another mad dash
down those decks once more. He had remembered something. The
engine rooms; there was a weakness in it's gears. A free space
if the gears were to jam too harshly. So, he knew he was here to
kill, yes, but, who? No. The ship itself was his target, and,
those who would be sure to join it in it's decent to the bottom
of the sea. This weighed heavy on his soul as those tears
couldn't help but to fall with his heavy trots. Why must he
always be seen as the villain and the destroyer? Why could he
never be the savior? What sort of captain sacrificed his ship?
These words meant nothing, though, as the distraught boy barged
into the locked engine room. His form panting, not from
exhaustion, but from an anger he couldn't help but try his best
to push deep into his stomach. His heavy boots carrying him over
to the gears as he stared to them for a moment: clicking his
cane to the floor as it was forced into the full, scythe, form
of Temptation. Staring at the gears for a moment in hesitation
as that boy's eyes continued to water with frustrated tears.
"Why!? Why do I gotta give up on my dream!? Just so they get a
heaven or hell!?" The boy pleaded, but, the gears only let out a
violent grind in reply to him.
Frustrated in himself: he plunged the handle of Temptation into
the massive gears. Surely large enough to bend any mortal metal,
Temptation hissed out in disapproval to it's own suffering:
emitting that blackened smoke. Jackie yelling over the gears
beginning to grind as he struggled to hold and push Temptation
in place. "Come on, mate..! Just do it..!" He'd say with his
eyes sealed shut; not wanting to see it, though, Temptation not
willing to give. The boy finally letting out a frustrated growl
as he opened his eyes. "Are ya--!?"
Though, the beast did not even let the boy finish his words as
the scythe had sent out a massive explosion of blackened mass;
sending the gears into chaos as they flew about the interior of
the ship. Triggering an explosion as the boy was pushed from the
force by sheer luck: flying from a hatch and ejected into the
wide, black, ocean. Having the perfect seat to hear the screams
and see the many panicked souls as he gripped his Temptation;
the massive ship blowing apart from the middle as it pulled
those who tried to escape down with it.
Jackie's eyes going wide, yet, his mind seeming to go deaf to
the cries as he watched this catastrophe. His body simply laying
back as it seemed to float in the water; now letting out his
breathe as he allowed himself to fall with Temptation in hand.
His heavy boots dragging him down as he watched the massive
ship, seeming to be frozen in time, beneath the surface. Yet,
his body only seeming to fall with the others into an infinite
blackness of the ocean's void.
#Post#: 410571--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jackie's Odd Jobs
DIR By: Evil Kitty
Date: March 27, 2020, 10:42 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
EPISODE 17: THE SNAGGED LEASH ("Many Men" by 50 Cent)
THE STAR
Jackie had a wide smirk cross over his lips as he used his cane
wielding hand to push open the doors to the strip club buried
deep into the ravaged neighborhood. The bump and vibrations of
the speakers functioning as a warm welcome to the boy as he
greeted them with a soft close of the eyes. Standing there for a
moment, just within the entrance, taking in the very echo of
this buildings soul. It brought a smirk as he remembered that
adulterated, self destructive, taste.
Of course, he had noticed the strange looks gathering across the
club for him, but, it was hard for them to keep much interest in
him as the girls kept lining up to dance for their payment.
Jackie watching these, artful, fluid, movements with a bit of
distance from some of the lap dances as he had made his way
towards the center stage with an amused smile thus far. The
colors. The textures. The aesthetics. Everything was perfect to
keep a man's fancy as these women would dance to rob you of coin
and soul.
So, naturally, he sat as he arrived to the velvet stage. Placing
his cane gently upon the floor in front of him as the music
bumped for her every move: leaning his head in and resting it
upon his cane to follow her every twist and spin upon that magic
pole. ".. How'd she do that..?" Was all the boy could mutter
with a fascinated glance; ignoring the panting, frantic, men
throwing the bills as the woman would slowly drop her clothes
upon the stage.
Apparently, much to Jackie displeasure, one tends to attract bad
company when one comes to a place of business with no money.
Feeling the tap of ringed fingers against the boy's black
sleeved shoulders. His head turning to see, standing above him,
a group of three large men and one who seemed... Like a fan of
furs and jewelry; a clear admirer of wealth over his size.
Standing before Jackie, also, with his own gold, engraved, cane;
christened with an emerald upon the grip. "Hey there, mister. My
girls don't dance for free now." As he spoke the large men took
note to crack their knuckles to intimidate the boy.
Jackie only letting out a laugh as he turned in the chair and
slowly stood before them; putting the men on guard. Though, the
wealthy man had never flinched from the boy's motions: a
confident smile played upon his face as he looked to Jackie.
"Oh, I didn't mean ta bother, mate.. Not here ta see, actually."
The boy spoke cryptically as the man had looked over him
curiously; noticing Jackie slouched over the cane. A loud laugh
escaping the man's lip. "Oooh! Business, huh? Here for a girl?
Well, how about we get a booth so we can come to some kinda
arrangement?" The man practically snickered with anticipation as
Jackie kept that smirk; following the man and his goons to this
booth as he muttered. "Yeah... Somethin' like that, mate..."
As they were seated upon the fine, velvet, booths, just the man
and the boy, the guards had stood in front of the two: keeping
their eyes open for all. The man first to address Jackie with
that eager smile. "So, what'ya think, my friend? You got a good
peek on the merchandise. You tell me what you got in mind."
Jackie only chuckling in reply to the man's words; looking down
to Temptation in his palms as he thought. "Hm.. So many good
girls out there, mate... I was thinkin' somethin'... Not so
good. Somethin' dark and broken.."
As the boy spoke those words he had looked to the man; his eyes
seeming to be ice cold as the man seemed... Disturbing by this
look. The guards now beginning to look back to the two of them,
but, the man had shooed their glances away: now tapping his long
nails upon the table. "Well... We have my girl, Opheelia… I
think you'd like her. Black hair, real shy, lots of corsets..?
How's that sound to you?" The man spoke with a bit of a puzzled
tone; Jackie only smirking. "Your girl, huh? Sure, let's have a
look."
In time, the man had sent the guard to go retrieve the dancer
from back stage as she had joined the two of them in the booth.
Jackie welcoming her with a kind smile as his eyes was fixed
upon her own; not bothering with her make up covered, dressed
up, body. "Hello, love. Name's Jackie." He spoke his
introduction casually, though, she seemed hesitant to respond;
for which the man grew angry. Bringing his hand up to meet it to
the back of her head in a demeaning smack. "The man's talking to
ya, Opheelia!"
This motion grew a glare upon Jackie's eyes before he had heard
the woman's soft cry of words. "I'm sorry, Jackie! I-I'm
Opheelia!" She spoke now, not of her own accord, but, of the
man's. Letting out a sigh as he pulled his cane up; pulling a
single black cigarette from it's beak and lighting it within his
lips. "Don't worry about it, love.... How about drinks..?"
Jackie proposed to limber up the mood; as the man now grumbled
in reply, though, obliged nonetheless. A top free waitress
setting three drinks in front of the three.
"Now, can we address your proposal?" The man said as his form
seemed nervous and edgy; while Jackie seemed contemplative as he
held his glass. Merely mixing the fluids within the drink with
one another as he refused to look to the man. "Yeah... 'Bout
that, mate..." Jackie spoke softly as he slowly sipped his first
taste of the drink; blowing sweet scented smoke from his nose.
"I'm not here for the girls.. 'N better yet; I'm Death." He
spoke his words so blatantly to the stray solicitor; now looking
to him to measure his reaction.
The man's eyes grew wide for a moment before he began to laugh
to the boy. "So, that's it, then!? A raggedy kid comes in my
prized business and pretends to be Death and I'm just supposed
to... Die!? After all that!?" His laughing only grew as he
narrated his own biography. Jackie's smile growing wide as he
spoke once more. "'Bout it, Bruce." The boy spoke the man's true
name blatantly; causing a glare to cross that man's eyes. That
had been a name he had not used in years, and, one he had not
intended to use again.
"That's it! Boys! Sick him." With that the large men had turned
in their stances, guns drawn, to wield the three of them towards
the smirking boy. Who could only chuckle in reply to their
pointless attempt. Letting out an amused sigh as he lifted his
cane in a bit of a knowing shrug. "Try your luck, boys. Take aim
at Death. Just make sure that aim is true." He spoke as his eyes
turned to a serious glare. The man in charge, clenched to
Opheelia, yelled out to them. "Just shoot him, already!" The
barrage of bullets finally breaking the bumps and beats that
vibrated the rooms: erupting a mad panic.
With all those shots fired from those four men, none had pierced
the flesh of the boy. Leaving four bodies to drop as Temptation
seemed to rattle with joy: Opheelia only screaming as the man's
limp body leaned against her. Jackie leaning forward as he put
his fingers over her soft cheeks; giving her a soft smile.
"Shh.. It's over now. No more apologies. No more faults." He
said as he leaned in: placing a soft kiss upon the woman's lips.
Pulling away just slightly for a moment as to see her stare to
him. The life simply struck from her like a bolt as her head was
left to drop in the palm of his hand; putting it gently upon the
table. Making his way to the bar of the, now barren, club as he
poured his glass. Simply wandering to the poles as he sighed;
attempting his best to swing and glide around it with a
sorrowful need for that amusement once more.
#Post#: 410573--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jackie's Odd Jobs
DIR By: Evil Kitty
Date: March 28, 2020, 5:28 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
EPISODE 18: THE COLLAPSING STALACTITE ("Diamonds And Rust" by
Joan Baez)
THE MOON
Jackie seemed to have grown... Distant from the other reapers as
he sat within that blackened mass; portraying itself as a room.
Now refusing to sit upon the furnishings and lies as he saw them
as the black smoke that they really were. It had been wearing on
him day by day; forcing him to find refuge on the floor as he
sat quietly. His eyes fixed upon those markings left upon his
tattoos as he wondered.. There was a time when every death he
went through forced him to lose his marks... But, now, no matter
how many deaths he endures, they persist, and now grew to guide
him... Is he growing stronger? Or weaker?
Mistress could easily see through the boy's discontent as the
other three had laughed between themselves; if one had counted
Billie's mumbling as laughter. A fist clenching tight in her own
fury for the boy's temperament. Soon to find herself lifted from
the image of a shadowy couch; that ominous iron mask looking
down upon the isolated, crouching, boy. "Is this it, Jackie?"
She spoke with a demanding, harsh, tone. The boy only tilting
his head up with a faint, somewhat agitated, huff. "No idea what
ya on, love."
Though, his words were kind, his attitude was that of a
rebellious child. The glare certainly felt from within that iron
mask upon him as the woman reached down. Her silken arms
displaying her strength as she gripped the boy by the collar:
pulling him to his feet with a pin against the wall. "You know
exactly what I'm 'on,' Jackie!" She huffed in break between her
lecture; looking to the boy's averting, angry, glance. "So you
meet something out there and you get marked with a couple bad
ghosts! What now!? Now you see all the bad, huh? We're just a
bunch of sinners!? The liar, the racist, the murderer!?"
Her screams were harsh to the boy as she pointed out every
reaper in the room; only to grab the boy's arm with a furious
grip. The snarl being heard in her tone. "Let's not forget
suicide! So, don't think you're a saint, Jackie! That's the one
sin you don't come back from!" She spoke those words as she push
the boy away harshly. Though, he could only let out a bit of a
laugh as all the reapers watched silently; waiting on the boy.
His voice, feeling disenchanted, but not broken, as that laugh
was quick to end for his words. "Thanks for the perspective,
love... But, ain't worried about sin or God.. I.." He seemed to
struggle on those next words as he looked to Temptation. "Just
glad to meet ya's.."
With those words Mistress had seemed paralyzed; as if expecting
some defense. Though, he simply accepted her words as he dropped
Temptation to his side with a bittersweet smile to them all. "If
ya don't mind.. I'ma get some air.." He muttered as he wandered
away from them all; preparing to leave as they all yelled.
"Jackie!" "Jackie!" "Jackie!" Though, he only turned back for a
smile as he sliced true: tearing that doorway to his next life.
"Don't worry, mates. Be back soon..."
Jackie had let out a soft, soothing, sigh as he was met with the
cool winds of the high moon. His heavy boots meeting the
concrete of the silent highway with a firm stance and the click
of his cane. It certainly was quite a change of pace compared to
where he just was, though, he didn't like this quiet... The
highway seeming stripped of it's color by the very night. It
seemed... Dead. Devoid of it's own vibrant music.
Soon, this silence to be interrupted as a man had wandered his
way down the road. His image shady at first in the distance of
the lunar light. Yet, as he grew closer, the boy could make out
the true impact of the man's massive girth. Feeling the hunger
from that, oh so fitting, monster of a tool the man carried
harshly upon his shoulders: a massive, rusted, pickaxe that of
which Jackie was sure weighed half of himself. The stocky man's
heavy footsteps stopping just before Jackie as Temptation
growled in warning; catching the man's attention. Slamming the
head of the pickaxe atop the cement: fracturing the road as for
him to rest his hands upon it's handles. "How many, boy?"
His voice was stern, yet it held hints of accusation towards
Jackie. Hearing that name and that title. It sent that,
helpless, aggravation down his spine. "Mmn.. Listen, mate...
Don't know what ya sayin'.. But, it's Jack--" Though, the boy's
words were immediately cut off as his ribs were met with the
full force of that massive pickaxe; luckily using the blunt side
as to not puncture or slice the boy. Simply hearing the break of
bones as all air was knocked from his lungs; his body flying
back over the highway from the man's assault.
The boy barely able to catch himself, a couple of feet away, by
digging a transformed Temptation into the cement as an anchor.
The man watching the boy's quick thinking with a bit of a
chuckle; slowly taking steps as he dragged that pickaxe through
the cement of the road towards Jackie. "Digger. Now how many
reapers, boy!?" Digger's questioning growing all the more
aggressive as he quickly lifted the pick and jolted in one fluid
motion for the boy. Jackie's eyes going wide as he could only
stare down this oncoming train. This time, the very, flat, tip
of the tool forced into the boy's stomach with incredible force
as he was forced to bend over to the man's strength. "Ughn..!
Why the--!?"
Though, with those questioning words to the man, he grabbed the
boy by his sloppy, black, hair. Pulling the tool from his broken
bones. Using the boy's hair to keep him propped up, along with
Jackie's own sorry need to hold himself with the scythe, as he
looked the boy in his beaten eyes. "Wrong answer. Lookin' for a
number, boy." Digger had said cruelly, before bringing his knee
up into the boy's jaw: completely severing any form of balance
as he released the lad to fall back to the asphalt and cement.
Jackie now coughing up bits of his own blood from the injures he
felt burning inside, but, the man was smart. He wasn't trying to
kill him. He was trying to torture him. The boy seeing this
despite his eyes barely able to see in their splashed of blood.
Rolling over to look to the man with a sense of defeat; watching
as that moon hung high behind the man wielding his pickaxe.
"Mmn.. Four... Now why..?" Those words were all the boy could
strain his throat to speak to the man as he could barely keep
himself from collapsing.
The man only grinning to the boy's response. "I wanted to make
sure of something... You reckon yourself a man? Then hear this,
boy. Reapers' power are defined by the other reapers they meet..
You make my five... Which means.." His grin only grew all the
more twisted as he made his way over to the boy once more;
gripping him by the hair as Jackie groaned out. "I finally can
show you something." He chuckled as he dragged Jackie's
flailing, pained, form: reaching for his skull as he was dragged
to the edge of the highway.
Yet, as they reached the edge of the high rise highway he had
only thrown Jackie's torso over the guard rail; his massive hand
a firm grip on the boy's back to keep him from falling. "Hear
that, boy?" The man groaned in a bit of irritation for the boy
as he tugged. Jackie could pick up faint noises as he heard the
speed of a lone car down the highway below; the beat of a
speaker and familiar scent of chemical joining their night's
bliss. "Mmnh…" Is all Jackie could grunt from his broken jaw as
the man laughed in reply. "That's a good boy. But.. What's
that..?"
As he spoke those words there seemed to be another car on the
opposing side of the road; making a turn and clear of view from
the oncoming, frantic, car. Jackie's, blood shot, eyes going
wide as he could see it all panning out before his eyes. "There
it is, boy... Those are your people, boy.. Self destruction,
right...? Well, let's see how this family lasts against you.."
The cruel man whispered to the boy as the two cars had
immediately collided. The sheer screams of the families that lie
within the second car and the dying pain of the first car
shocking through Jackie's soul as he stared upon the burning
flames.
Digger finally turning Jackie around in his holding grip to look
the boy face to face; a mean glare in his eyes. "What happened
here, boy..? These are your souls. I'm tired of cleanin' your
messes. Tired of you, period." The man said blatantly as the boy
had listened to his every word. Both unable to fight his
sentiment in body and in mind. How could he? He was right. With
that, the man only chuckling to the boy's defeat as he dropped
him from the highway: leaving the boy to contemplate for the
rest of his quick plummet to earth.
#Post#: 410576--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jackie's Odd Jobs
DIR By: Evil Kitty
Date: April 3, 2020, 4:14 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
(Wooh… Lil heavy. Stalled forever carryin' this around.)
EPISODE 19: THE BLUE DWARF ("Hello" by Evanescence)
THE SUN
The boy could not escape his dream as he would wander into the
next. He could remember it as clearly as he could remember his
own hand; being trapped within those iron bars. Recalling the
longing for the green, colorful, pastures that his cage would
lay in the center of. He envied that grass day by day as he
would reach out just to touch it and feel it touch him in
between his constant need to entertain himself with a dull
babel. Wishing for the day that he would be released from that
silent tomb into the life and color of the world around him.
Yet, he never did get to meet the happy end to that dream. Those
pointless words he spoke to himself eventually ran dry in his
confusion and loneliness. Finally, that cage's lock breaking as
he found himself rising to his feet. Only to see them having
joined, in oneness, with the metal bottom of the cage: becoming
a strange abomination of stone as he called out for those
flowers to give no aid. That stone curse spreading as it had
taken over the poor boy's form: keeping him forever one with the
cage he resided.
Of course, as with them all, Jackie would wake up from that
dream and find himself within a new life with new promises.
Though, this one would be something special for the boy. He
would not just experience death, but, the promise of life as he
found himself in that hospital room. The roars of the queen
quaking the very foundations as that kind hearted king held to
her strangling grip; sharing in a fraction of her pain as they
lay, hours into labor.
"Come on! We can do this, Jenn!" The man spoke so encouragingly
as he could barely compose his own self; watching his love
suffer before him. Jackie watching from the corner of the room
with his cane in his hand with a quiet, crooked, stance. "We!?"
Cried the harsh, agitated, woman. "Are you gonna push him out!?"
She could only yell out in deep grunts in between her heavy,
exhausted, huffs as she felt every surge of pain. Temptation
beginning to hiss to Jackie as the boy could feel a thump with
every tense of the woman's muscles. "Hm.." Was all the boy could
mutter at this feeling; still merely watching.
"..Adrian..?" The woman began to speak her child's name in her
delirium as she heard Jackie's unfamiliar, curious, hums. Of
which the boy could only smile; speaking in a faint whisper in
reply to her words. ".. Not yet, mum..." The woman finally
letting out one, harsh, cry with that last push, and, with it...
A doll. A mere copy of their likeness, but, frozen in time and
cold to touch. The doctors growing silent as the woman's head
fell in defeat; despite not knowing why just yet. Though, she
was sure to find out as they rush the newborn from the room.
"Can't we see the baby?" Cried the ignorant man, though, Jackie
only looked to the woman silently meeting his glance.
They had merely carried on their days from there on... Well, he
had. Returning to his role as a king; spreading his kind heart
and fixing his hurt. Yet, she could do no such thing as she sat
there in her new cage of a home; staring out into the greener
pastures with her doll clenched tight in her breast. That face
she had come to meet that day had become her comfort. Jackie
looking to the woman with a soft smile as he brought her tea by
the window; sitting down by her side. "Ya know... It's much
prettier out there.."
The woman would only look to Jackie with a dull smile before her
eyes drifted back to the window; a look of bittersweet serenity
crossing over her expression. "Adrian doesn't like other
kids..." She spoke softly, but, surely; as if she had no choice
in the matter. She must stay inside. Clenching the doll all the
closer as she ran her fingers through it's hair. The boy only
chuckling. "Hm... Wonder why..."
"Oh I don-" Though, her words of reply were cut off with the
slow creak of the front door opening behind them; causing the
woman's silence and her eyes to drop. Jackie observing the sense
of shame and despair that seemed to fill her mind as the man had
barely managed to force his way in the front door with a sigh:
growing tired of the ghosts that lay within.
Slowly wandering back to join the two within the sunroom with an
exhausted grunt. He was running out of attempts. Running out of
things to say that would even begin to breach his own wife's
silence. It felt hopeless of him to try to fix this every day.
Jackie knew that's just what it was as he watched the two. "...
I'm home..." Though, his words were met with nothing but,
silence. A scoff escaping his lips as he was nearing his
breaking point. "What more do I need!? It's been years and I'm
still here! What did I do!? How can I fix this!?" The man yelled
and pleaded.
Though, she could only look away with hurt in every word. She
had known it was not his fault. She had felt every day with that
boy. She chose his stress, his food, his sickness, and his
health... It was her baby first. Clenching her doll tight to her
chest as the man saw this; only scoffing once more in return.
Wiping away his own tears as he could not put up with it. "Fine!
Do what you want! But, don't ask me to sit around in it!" He
spoke harshly as he stormed from the room, and, from the home:
being sure to slam the front door with a flinch of the woman.
Jackie only chuckling in reply to the whole situation. "Looks
like he just don't get it..." He spoke out softly as he turned
his head away from the woman, though, his eyes remained fixed on
her from the corner. A sigh escaping her lips as she released
the doll from her grip to look it over; tidying up it's outfit
and hair as she thought. "He misses him too... He just... Moved
on.." A bittersweet frown crossing over her lips as she
attempted to keep what little optimism was held intact. ".. And
soon he'll move on again... And I can't..."
As she spoke those words Jackie could only shake his head with a
bit of a disappointed grunt. Slowly rising from his seat in the
corner as he looked to her; growing slightly closer. "If I said
I could take you to Adrian..?" Jackie looked down to the doll
with a bit of a scoff. "The real Adrian." The boy spoke with
solid white eyes of ice as he looked to the woman; who was taken
a bit off guard by such a trusted ally's words. "I... You
promise...?" She spoke out those words in disbelief for his
claims as she looked between his eyes and her doll.
The boy only smiling in reply to her disbelief as he kneeled in
close to her. His confident eyes gazed into her own as she was
to see the kindness that has been obscured by confusion for so
long in Jackie's lives. She had reminded him of it as he
outreached his hand for her to accept; Temptation growling for
the boy in anticipation. "I swear it, love." His soft, inviting,
demeanor enough to convince the woman as tears finally fell from
her eyes after so many years. "O-Okay.." She muttered as she
took the boy's hand. That jolt of lightning separating her from
her limp body as her spirit used Jackie's aid to stand; meeting
a little boy of five in her arms with a moment of bliss before
they were to wander off into their greener pastures.
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