WEBVTT 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:04.419 Chapter 5 of the Jack Moore Chronicles The dancing, 00:00:04.580 --> 00:00:08.240 crackling fire and the burning wood roused me 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:12.640 from unconsciousness, or so I thought. The snow 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:17.219 fell softly on the ground. A crow sat upon a 00:00:17.219 --> 00:00:20.920 nearby tree. Its wings took flight when I spotted 00:00:20.920 --> 00:00:24.260 it. Snow fell from the dead branch that the crow 00:00:24.260 --> 00:00:28.059 took off from. My father sat at the old wooden 00:00:28.059 --> 00:00:32.920 desk. passed down through generations. Scratches 00:00:32.920 --> 00:00:37.100 lined the wood, echoes of the past. The colors 00:00:37.100 --> 00:00:39.840 of the symbol on the desk remained as vibrant 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:42.859 as the day someone forged them into the oak. 00:00:43.579 --> 00:00:46.960 The stark red and deep blue of the water stood 00:00:46.960 --> 00:00:50.939 out. My father wore a sweater that looked itchy. 00:00:51.460 --> 00:00:54.700 The gray of his long hair blended with his neatly 00:00:54.700 --> 00:00:59.619 trimmed beard. He faced away from me. Yet I knew 00:00:59.619 --> 00:01:03.079 it was him. It was as if I were a kid again. 00:01:03.539 --> 00:01:07.260 The weight of the years vanished, as did the 00:01:07.260 --> 00:01:10.939 pain on my forehead. My feet swung from the couch. 00:01:11.379 --> 00:01:15.200 The word dad was on the tip of my tongue, but 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:19.000 I couldn't quite utter it. He adjusted his head 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:24.939 to the right, as if to hear better. Dad? The 00:01:24.939 --> 00:01:28.920 word finally escaped. He didn't turn. His focus 00:01:28.920 --> 00:01:32.159 was on the work that was in front of him. The 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:36.120 fireplace's warmth caressed my skin. I glanced 00:01:36.120 --> 00:01:39.540 at it, and then could not take my eyes off the 00:01:39.540 --> 00:01:42.700 flames. I thought about the flames increasing. 00:01:43.500 --> 00:01:47.560 It was as if the words escaped my mouth and drifted 00:01:47.560 --> 00:01:51.819 to the fire, translating into a language it understood. 00:01:53.099 --> 00:01:56.560 The fireplace's warmth increased. As the flames 00:01:56.560 --> 00:02:00.640 grew, the fire came alive. The blue of the flames 00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:07.640 devoured the red. Wait! No! Stop! Stop! I yelled, 00:02:07.799 --> 00:02:12.400 but the words fell on deaf ears. The flames surrounded 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:16.020 me in their warm embrace until all I could see 00:02:16.020 --> 00:02:20.979 was red. All I could feel was heat. I closed 00:02:20.979 --> 00:02:25.990 my eyes in hopes of waking up. Jack. Wake up, 00:02:26.050 --> 00:02:30.729 a voice said in the distance. The drastic change 00:02:30.729 --> 00:02:34.550 in temperature shocked my system. My skin was 00:02:34.550 --> 00:02:38.469 flushed from heat. I was drenched in sweat. My 00:02:38.469 --> 00:02:41.750 eyes opened to see Golding standing over me. 00:02:42.069 --> 00:02:47.990 What the hell happened to you? He asked. I don't 00:02:47.990 --> 00:02:51.889 know. I could feel blood gushing down my forehead. 00:02:52.599 --> 00:02:55.599 I tried gathering myself, the heat fading away. 00:02:56.219 --> 00:02:59.719 The detective put his hand up as an offer, one 00:02:59.719 --> 00:03:03.680 I accepted. In that moment, I saw strength and 00:03:03.680 --> 00:03:07.759 weariness in his grip. The man before me had 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:10.879 been through hell and back. He was more like 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:14.039 me than I initially thought, kindred spirits 00:03:14.039 --> 00:03:18.560 of the devil. What the hell, Jack? The detective 00:03:18.560 --> 00:03:21.900 yelled as he pulled his hand away from mine. 00:03:22.330 --> 00:03:26.349 His face turned from worry to pain in an instant. 00:03:26.909 --> 00:03:30.210 I looked down at my hands, and they appeared 00:03:30.210 --> 00:03:32.830 normal to me. You just burnt the shit out of 00:03:32.830 --> 00:03:37.069 my hand, the detective said. I was just as confused 00:03:37.069 --> 00:03:40.490 as him. I was at least 20 feet from the barn. 00:03:40.729 --> 00:03:44.150 The door was ajar. I thought about telling the 00:03:44.150 --> 00:03:47.349 detective about the creature, but this didn't 00:03:47.349 --> 00:03:50.689 seem like a good time. We walked back to his 00:03:50.689 --> 00:03:53.759 car. We sat in silence as he drove me back to 00:03:53.759 --> 00:03:57.759 Doug's. My head felt like shit between the normal 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:01.360 pain and the wound. I felt lousy as he drove. 00:04:01.460 --> 00:04:04.580 I stared out the window, trying to comprehend 00:04:04.580 --> 00:04:07.699 what happened. As I looked out the window, we 00:04:07.699 --> 00:04:10.900 passed some trees. The dead branches twisted 00:04:10.900 --> 00:04:16.279 and bent as if possessed by a demon. I closed 00:04:16.279 --> 00:04:19.300 my eyes, trying to regain some kind of sanity. 00:04:20.310 --> 00:04:23.790 After a count of five, I open then to find the 00:04:23.790 --> 00:04:27.610 trees looking normal again. I've been higher 00:04:27.610 --> 00:04:31.230 than a kite before, but this is new, and I'm 00:04:31.230 --> 00:04:34.529 not even high. Did I hit my head so hard I'm 00:04:34.529 --> 00:04:38.970 seeing shit? Was that vampire even real? Is this 00:04:38.970 --> 00:04:42.889 real? Is Steven even dead? What the fuck is wrong 00:04:42.889 --> 00:04:46.350 with me? I was rudely taken out of my self -pity 00:04:46.350 --> 00:04:49.639 when Golding slammed on the brake. We were at 00:04:49.639 --> 00:04:53.839 Doug's. What happened out there, Jack? He asked, 00:04:53.980 --> 00:04:58.100 his voice more raspy than normal. He was rubbing 00:04:58.100 --> 00:05:01.779 the burned hand with the other one. Your guess 00:05:01.779 --> 00:05:04.480 is as good as mine. I was searching the ranch 00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:07.060 like you asked me to do, and all I can remember 00:05:07.060 --> 00:05:09.920 is waking up on the ground. I decided to not 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:12.620 tell Golding about the vampire. I didn't want 00:05:12.620 --> 00:05:15.459 him to wonder how I got away from it. Hell, I 00:05:15.459 --> 00:05:18.259 didn't even know how I did. Can you explain this? 00:05:18.889 --> 00:05:21.569 He showed me his palm that had a scorch mark. 00:05:21.850 --> 00:05:25.209 You know how the other victims were killed, right 00:05:25.209 --> 00:05:29.550 Jack? The detective said, it wasn't a question. 00:05:30.410 --> 00:05:34.949 Yeah, a hole blasted through them? Yes, scorched 00:05:34.949 --> 00:05:38.529 through them by fire. I caught on to what Golding 00:05:38.529 --> 00:05:42.670 was putting down. Not you too. Detective Moron 00:05:42.670 --> 00:05:44.850 already wants to frame me for the killings. My 00:05:44.850 --> 00:05:47.170 best friend was killed. He was like my brother. 00:05:47.740 --> 00:05:50.060 I don't know how I burnt your hand, but I sure 00:05:50.060 --> 00:05:53.420 in hell didn't kill anyone. Jack, you're trying 00:05:53.420 --> 00:05:56.800 to be reasonable here. You know this ain't normal. 00:05:57.720 --> 00:06:00.579 You try to be reasonable. Take care of your hand. 00:06:00.899 --> 00:06:05.060 I slammed the car door and paid for it. The sound 00:06:05.060 --> 00:06:08.439 burrowed in my mind. I must have gotten a concussion. 00:06:09.180 --> 00:06:11.480 Golding rolled down the window on the passenger 00:06:11.480 --> 00:06:14.699 side. You sure you can drive home? Yeah, I'm 00:06:14.699 --> 00:06:17.759 fucking sure. Doug's was still open. despite 00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:21.000 it being later in the afternoon. I walked in 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:23.879 to find the place empty. Doug stood behind the 00:06:23.879 --> 00:06:27.480 counter, cleaning. What happened to you? He asked 00:06:27.480 --> 00:06:30.339 as I walked in. Your guess is as good as mine, 00:06:30.480 --> 00:06:33.519 I replied. Doug pointed to the bar stool that 00:06:33.519 --> 00:06:36.079 sat on the other side of the counter. I sat. 00:06:37.040 --> 00:06:39.839 Before I could say anything, a bottle of whiskey 00:06:39.839 --> 00:06:42.600 appeared. Doug, you don't have a liquor license. 00:06:43.339 --> 00:06:47.300 Well, I ain't charging you, so... They can't 00:06:47.300 --> 00:06:51.680 charge me. Doug poured me a cup. As he did, the 00:06:51.680 --> 00:06:55.000 blue long sleeve of his shirt raised, unearthing 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:59.000 a tattoo in the process of being erased. As my 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:01.199 eyes caught the tattoo, Doug covered it with 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:04.279 his sleeve. Who's the lucky lady's name you're 00:07:04.279 --> 00:07:08.100 erasing there, man? Oh, uh, no, just a past I'd 00:07:08.100 --> 00:07:12.139 like to forget. I was sure whiskey wasn't the 00:07:12.139 --> 00:07:15.149 best remedy for a concussion. but the liquid 00:07:15.149 --> 00:07:18.149 gold went down nicely. What happened to your 00:07:18.149 --> 00:07:22.449 head? asked Doug, changing the subject. Me and 00:07:22.449 --> 00:07:25.689 that detective went out to the ranch, and I got 00:07:25.689 --> 00:07:28.850 knocked out or something. To be honest, not even 00:07:28.850 --> 00:07:31.750 sure. Looking into Doug's green eyes and his 00:07:31.750 --> 00:07:34.889 weathered face, marked with wrinkles like tree 00:07:34.889 --> 00:07:38.490 rings revealing his age, I could sense his skepticism 00:07:38.490 --> 00:07:43.069 toward my story. Has anything unexplainable ever 00:07:43.069 --> 00:07:46.209 happened to you? Something that can't be real? 00:07:47.110 --> 00:07:49.829 Doug took a deep breath and drank his whiskey. 00:07:50.230 --> 00:07:53.870 There was something at that ranch, Doug. I saw 00:07:53.870 --> 00:07:58.449 it. Saw what? I don't know, but it was fucking 00:07:58.449 --> 00:08:02.050 horrific. It had red eyes and teeth sharper than 00:08:02.050 --> 00:08:04.589 any knife. It couldn't have been real though, 00:08:04.689 --> 00:08:08.310 right? I don't know, Doug. Maybe I really am 00:08:08.310 --> 00:08:11.209 losing it this time. Maybe I'm just seeing shit. 00:08:11.569 --> 00:08:15.009 But it felt real. Felt like it was going to tear 00:08:15.009 --> 00:08:18.009 me apart. Doug took a deep breath and leaned 00:08:18.009 --> 00:08:24.470 close. Jack, the world is full of things we can't 00:08:24.470 --> 00:08:26.889 explain. I think you need to take a step back. 00:08:27.209 --> 00:08:30.889 I know Steven's death hit you hard, but I'm telling 00:08:30.889 --> 00:08:33.850 you, it's not good for you to keep doing this. 00:08:33.990 --> 00:08:37.350 The weight of the past is something we all carry. 00:08:37.769 --> 00:08:40.669 Doug rubbed his finger along his wrist with the 00:08:40.669 --> 00:08:43.539 tattoo. You don't know shit, Doug. Thanks for 00:08:43.539 --> 00:08:45.679 the drink. Let me know if you hear from Susan. 00:08:46.259 --> 00:08:48.679 I didn't want pity. I didn't want understanding. 00:08:49.179 --> 00:08:52.799 Just answers. I put my drink down and walked 00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:56.620 away. Doug returned to cleaning the cafe. I could 00:08:56.620 --> 00:08:58.740 hear Doug in the distance as he wiped the counter. 00:08:59.019 --> 00:09:02.759 You're welcome. I walked outside, my whiskey 00:09:02.759 --> 00:09:05.659 breath visible in the night air. I got in my 00:09:05.659 --> 00:09:09.419 Saturn. It was dark and cold. My car's heater 00:09:09.419 --> 00:09:13.799 was useless, just as I felt. I screamed. Fuck! 00:09:14.480 --> 00:09:17.240 My voice reverberated in the confined space. 00:09:18.340 --> 00:09:22.159 Hey you. Yeah, you. Thanks for listening to this 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:25.139 episode of the Jack Moore Chronicles. Curious 00:09:25.139 --> 00:09:27.659 to see how the story unfolds? Make sure to follow 00:09:27.659 --> 00:09:30.279 the show so you don't miss what's next. 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