Never In Anger

[Cyco†]

((continued from Schoolhouse Rock))

Jana found herself back at the playground where Kevin had been shot. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted his limp figure, half-covered by the bushes. While it was true he had been a bit conceited (quite a fair bit actually), she couldn't help but wish in retrospect that he'd come out on top instead of the SOTF equivalent of Cheech and Chong.

Her head was spinning. It was almost hard to register that she'd so abruptly rid herself of Matt and Sera, leaving herself alone and vulnerable. The moment she'd stepped outside the school perimeter Jana's stomach had knotted up, and now each step away from her former allies felt laden with resistence. She staggered and let her daypack fall beside one of the swings, seating herself heavily in it. She set the crossbow on her lap and eased her grip off of it a little; her hand was aching.

'I can't go back,' she thought, shaking her head. 'They're both playing. I'd be next.' She brushed tears from her cheek with her sleeve, sniffing quietly. She looked down at the sand below her and began writing in it with her toe absentmindedly. 'But, I know...nobody's themselves, because of the game. I forgive you, Sera. Matt. I'm sorry I yelled at you.'

Jana was becoming more and more convinced that finding Eric was a lost cause. She couldn't even be sure that he'd survived this far. Maybe he'd been one of the first to die. Maybe he was never here to begin with. 'I've got to make sure, though. We're family.'

"I wish I could see you," she whispered.

'MOM,' said the ground at her feet.

~~~

Someone was singing. Offkey. Jana stirred and shifted on her swing as the announcements commenced. The dead were listed and after a few minutes Kayla Ravoy (that had been her real name after all) was the only name Jana recognized. She began to wonder if this game would ever end at all.

"Next down was Matt Drew..." Danya rattled on, and Jana almost did a double take. What could have happened? Whatever it was, she'd just barely missed it. Was Sera ok? No she wasn't. As she listened to just how Matt's demise had unfolded, Jana began to cry softly. In the end Sera had truly been the brains behind pa, and now she was dead anyway. The bridge she'd burned didn't even lead anywhere anymore. She was entirely alone.

Scratch that, she wasn't alone. A gunshot rang out in the distance, and instantly Jana shot to her feet, her mind ripe with terrifying possibilities. She gathered her things frantically and dashed towards the bushes nearby.

'Oh God...this is the final ten. I'm not going home...I'm never going home...'

(continued in Born As Ghosts))