Stand Together

Water and Fire

Jerome's POV

She knows...she knows. I slumped against a wall, tucked up my legs and rested my arms and head on them. She knows and she's from the government. Perfect. Just perfect. BANGBANGBANG! Right...Mitch is still out there. I got up and slowly walked over to the door, smelling for this 'Bertha' lady. Only an old scent: She's gone. When I opened the door Mitch's worried face greeted me. I gestured for him to come inside, then I realized that it was raining outside. The feeling of rain on my skin was unbelievable, I always loved the feeling of the water on my skin. I closed the door behind me as I walked outside and sat down on my drenched front porch, it was cold, but it just made me feel more conscious, more alive. Lightning and thunder filled the quiet night, allowing some light in the darkness of the...dark.

'They chased the other across the clouds, an endless game, no one winning.'

What? I heard this story before...

'They never stayed together, the leader and the follower, but they danced across the sky as best friends that could never meet.'

Who is talking?

'The rain always had to end, and they left with it...most of the time. On occasion, Thunder and Lightning would be present without their caregiver...'

What is going on?

'They could never be together, Jerome. Thunder was always just a step behind Lightning.'

It...knows my name? I didn't notice until now that a hand was on my shoulder, I followed the arm up to the face and almost sighed with relief, it was just Mitch.

"Hey biggums." I sighed, slowly getting up.

"You ok? You were outside for a while." He quickly caught me when I stumbled, I was still pretty stiff. Yeah...a while. I coughed. "Ok, let's get your ass inside." He muttered, leading me into the house. The steady fall of rain turned into a downpour, but I barely noticed, too caught up in my thoughts about what just happened. Who was the voice in my head? It was a woman, I know that for a fact, and she knew me. It wasn't Lyra, her voice is too 'rugged'. The one talking to me was soft and soothing, almost as if it were talking to a kid...wait. Were these memories? Something about the rain must have triggered it, I honestly don't want to worry about my past. Lyra mentioned things that I don't really want to dig into.

"Jerome? Are you ok?" Mitch was staring at me...must have zoned out again. I must be worrying the shit out of him.

"Yeah...I'm fine, honestly." I'm not. I need to tell somebody everything that's happened, it's too much for me to handle. Mitch kneeled down in front of me, he must have put me down.

"No you're not. Something's up with you Jerome, something serious." Something in my expression must have told him not to mess with me, because he backed up a little with his hands raised in surrender. "Ok biggums, my bad. You can tell me when you want to." Without thinking, I flung myself into him, feeling him rock backwards a little before getting back his balance. I started sobbing into his shoulder, knowing that I'm not the thing I started out to be, human. My entire life was a lie. I need something to help me out of this, or someone.

Mitch's POV

I'm honestly really worried about Jerome. Is it me? Did I do something? Did something happen to him over the week when I was still in the game? Well, technically a day in the 'real world' where we all live when we're not playing the mini-games. Time goes faster in them. Still, something could've happened...now I'm overthinking it. Still, he sat in the pouring rain for over an hour, staring at the sky. And now he's sick. Good job me, you're a great friend for not bringing him in earlier. Sighing, I put Jerome on the floor by the fireplace, he's still too wet to put on furniture...that's what s/he said. His eyes focused on my face, and some expression flashed across his face. I mentally sighed, he looked so nervous.