Page 43 of Jacob Michaels is Trouble

I inched back marginally at the fire-illuminated crazy expression on Jason’s face.

“Who the fuck wants to live like this?” He swept an arm vaguely through the air. “In this shithole town with limited opportunities, turning hairy off and on, walking the thinnest tight-rope in the world, hoping that you don’t anger him. Pray he doesn’t decide you and your family aren’t living up to the bargain?”

“Bargain?” I felt sick.

“Ask your boyfriend.” He snorted.

“I’m asking you.” I darted forward, shoving my flame covered hand into his face, nearly singing off some of his five o’clock shadow. “I’m asking you because I know where the fuck you are, Jason.”

“The Barkley’s have been here as long as my family has.” Jason didn’t even look scared anymore. “Do you think Lucas is the only one who is…special? His family knows him as well as mine and everyone else’s family in this town does, Rob. We all get powers…he uses us as he sees fit. Every damn person in this town is some flavor of strange. Some more so than others.”

Jason looked down when he said that part, obviously considering his own special “power.”

“Only problem is,” Jason looked up, squinting angrily, “Lucas doesn’t like playing the game.”

“You get powers you don’t want, and he uses all of you?” I was confused as I backed up marginally, pulling my hand away from him. “That’s it? Why do any of you play the game?”

I scoffed at him.

“I mean,” I continued, “if you don’t want to be a werewolf and the Barkley’s don’t want…whatever it is they have…why go along with it? What’s he going to do? Especially now that he’s gone?”

“He’s not gone,” Jason whispered. “He’s resting. You didn’t stop him. You just slowed him down. Sure. We all hoped what you did got rid of him for good. So we could all go on living as close to normal as possible. But…he’s been reminding us periodically that he’ll be back. And any of us who think we’re safe now will find out otherwise.”

“What’s in it for you?” I repeated like Jason was deaf. “Even if you know he’ll come back, he’s going to destroy this town and everything in it. Why play along?”

“Have you seen any homeless people here, Rob?” Jason asked gently. “Seen anyone go hungry? What’s the dropout rate at the high school? Who doesn’t have a job? Who can’t pay their bills? We’ve only had social problems in this town in the last ten years. Since you did what you did.”

“I see.” I swallowed.

“Maybe we’re all going to be fucked when he pops up again,” Jason said. “But we’re all going to die eventually anyway. At least here we know we’ll be taken care of until then.”

“Yeah.” I nodded, my hand dropping to my side as the fire went out, leaving us in shadowy darkness. “Because living under a bridge is so much worse than a fate worse than death, right? And you call me stupid.”

Jason just glowered.

“Everyone in this fucking town is a few red Solo cups short of a frat party, man.” I laughed bitterly. “I knew it when I was a kid…and these last few weeks have confirmed it. Especially now that I have—”

I stopped myself.

Jason grinned evilly.

“What are you smiling at, fucker?” I snapped.

“Nothing.” He snickered.

“Fucking tell me,” I replied. “Or do I need to threaten to burn you alive in this house again?”

“Your memory.” He snickered again. “It’s back.”

“What?”

How does he know anything about that?

“You wished to not know anything about any of this.” Jason was gesturing vaguely once more. “You thought so hard about how you wished you and Lucas didn’t know about any of the stuff that happened when you were kids. To escape from what was coming. You wished your little friends in your house were safe, too. You thought, when you came out of that well, that you had stopped him. That everyone was safe.”

I stared at him, my gut sinking towards my feet.

“All you did was make everyone on your side dumber than ever for the next ten years.” Jason was full-on laughing. “And the rest of us just went along with it, let you believe it while he started planning his return. He’s inevitable, Rob. All you did was give him more time to plan. You fucked up. And you didn’t even realize it until Lucas was snatched and I told you. You’ve already lost and are just now realizing it, man.”