Thursday 11/29/07 Who: Fisher and Ophelia Where: the tunnels When: afternoonish? What: Ophelia's ghost friend Aya is in trouble and Fisher and Jack help Ophelia rescue her... or not.
Jack was apparently restless. Fisher was trying to read a magazine but Jack just kept pacing around the room, fidgeting, playing with her hair and making small sighs of dissatisfaction. She seemed very tense and upset and it was bugging the crap out of Fisher. Grunting shortly, Fisher closed his magazine and rolled onto his back. "What?" he snapped, startling the frail ghost girl from her frenzy. She looked over at him, shook her head then sat at his computer desk, her leg bouncing frantically. Fisher rolled his eyes and sat up. "Jesus Christ," he muttered. "Okay, you really need to stop pacing around like this because I'm about to lose my Goddamn mind. What is the matter with you?"
Jack put her hands over her mouth, shaking her head again. She had promised not to say anything to Fisher because then he would have to go tell Ophelia, but Jack was worried. Very worried. The tunnels were really scary and Aya was completely alone down there. Aya had been wandering along one day away from Ophelia, and when Jack recognized her she made the effort to approach the girl. After all, Aya was young like Jack was, and she had seemed really nice. But what Aya told Jack was most distressing- she wanted to get away from Ophelia. Well, not wanted exactly, but felt she needed to. Since Fisher had seen Aya, Ophelia seemed sad because she couldn't see her old friend. And Aya didn't want to be seen- she didn't want Ophelia to dwell on her. But she also wanted to make sure Ophelia was safe. So she was going to stay at TJS and watch from afar. But now she was in the basement and that was a horrible place to be and Jack had promised not to tell Fisher but she was really freaking out and Aya needed to get out of the tunnels right now! "We need to get her out," Jack murmured, getting up and grabbing Fisher's hand. "We have to get Aya out of the tunnels. Scary people go down there and she's all alone and we need to get Ophelia and save her!"
Fisher let Jack pull him along, out into the hallway (he wasn't even wearing shoes) and down toward the girls' dormitories. She wasn't making a whole lot of sense, but the little pieces he understood didn't sound appealing. Jack planned on taking him into the tunnels? He'd heard a lot of noise coming from down there and Fisher sure as hell had no desire to enter it. But Jack was a lot more jittery than normal, and evidently this involved Ophelia and Aya and was extremely important. Sighing, he knocked on Ophelia's bedroom door.
"Jack said we have to go to the tunnels and save Aya. I don't know why."
---
Ophelia sat on her messy bed, having finished a phone conversation with her parents. They were pleased that she made friends although she left out the part about their abilities and encouraged her to keep seeing them. It was odd how happy a couple of friends made her - who were guys, even odder - but she had no complaints. She painted her fingernails bright orange as well as on her toes and the color fit with her hair in her opinion. Lounging with a candy bar and reading a book on medieval weapons was one of her favorite things to do in her spare time.
Her eyes landed on a picture of a flail and her mind wandered, imagining herself wielding one expertly, sending a wooden dummy crumpling to the floor. Not that impressive a daydream, but she had difficulty imaging hurting someone and making them bleed. The knock on the door broke her thoughts and she went to answer it. She saw Fisher, which lifted her spirits, but then he spoke and worried her right away. Save Aya? "Oh my gosh," she said. "Is she in trouble? Can ghosts be hurt?" That was a stupid question, without a doubt, although she had no idea if that were possible. Her best friend was still out there alone and Ophelia needed to do something. Shoes and jacket were on in the blink of an eye and she closed the door behind her, focusing on Jack.
"Please show me the way." Her nerves were now rattled and she wondered why Aya had left her side. She couldn't see her and her best friend was already dead, but this hit painfully close to home. Maybe Ophelia would lose Aya again somehow and the thought of not being watched over anymore was terrible. "You have to tell me the moment you see her, okay?" She held onto Fisher's arm for a second before she realized it was probably too much and dropped her hand. "Please." She might be worried for nothing... trusting a ghost she didn't really know was not the smartest idea in the world. When it came to Aya, her logic flew out the window.
---- Fisher was a little suprised as to how quickly Ophelia readied herself for a search and rescue. When Jack had dragged him out of his room, he was skeptical and a little wary. Seriously, going into the tunnels freaked him out. And besides, just saying that Aya needed help was really vague. After all, what kind of trouble could a ghost get into?
The girl looked really worried. "Uh, sure, of course," he said, walking behind Jack and watching Ophelia carefully. "So, um... I dunno what's going on because Jack won't tell me anything, so I'm not sure what's wrong with Aya-"
"She's alone!" Jack wailed. "She can't be alone because it's scary down there and bad people go there!" Jack started walking faster, wringing her hands. Why had she let Aya go? This was all her fault! She should have told Fisher sooner, should have done something to make the girl stay.
Fisher kind of stared at the back of Jack's head a moment before replying. "Okay," he said simply. What were they going to accomplish by going down there? As they got closer to the entrance to the tunnels, Fisher got more and more anxious. Several ghosts passed them in the hallways, though it seemed Ophelia couldn't see these ones. Which was really lucky for her. Swallowing, Fisher paused before the door that led into the dark, touching Ophelia's arm gently. "I, uh... I've never been down here," he admitted. "Because there's just... well you can probably hear them, can't you?" There was a low hum coming from down the steps, the constant murmur of too many voices in a confined space. "This place was an insane asylum for decades before it got shut down, and during that time they did all sorts of treatments that weren't exactly... ethical. And a lot of patients died. A lot. And.... most of them stay down here. From what I saw of the one time I opened this door..." He wrapped a hand around the back of his neck, reluctant to continue. "There are probably hundreds, maybe thousands, of people down there." He looked at Jack, then Ophelia. "I just thought you'd like to know what you're getting into."
---
Ophelia nodded as Fisher told her he was not sure what was going on and then listened to Jack explained what the matter was. Alone? Bad people? Her panic rose. What if the other ghosts would not let Aya go and she never saw her again? Not that she was able to see the spirit of her friend now... It was sweet that Jack was worried for Aya as well and Ophelia gave her an appreciative look. "I really hope we can find her," she murmured. Her heart pounded even quicker and her pace increased. She wanted to do something for Aya now because she was not able to save her when her apartment was on fire.
"I'm glad you told me. Thanks, Jack," said Ophelia. "I appreciate it." The spirit could be considered one of her friends as well, after this. She hurried along with them towards the tunnels and suddenly she heard soft voices. Quite a few of them. Where were the ghosts? Fisher seemed to see some she couldn't, though that was not surprising, yet she was still nervous. When he asked if she heard them, she nodded. The fact that the school was an insane asylum did not help matters at all and made her want to be sick.
Before she knew it, tears trickled down her cheeks. There was no helping it; she had to find Aya with Fisher's help. "Please help me find her," she pleaded. "I lost her once and I can't lose her again... even if I can't see her. I'm really sorry about this." She wiped the wetness from her cheeks. "I'll repay your kindness somehow." How was she going to do that? This was not something easily repaid. Ophelia took Fisher's arm and opened the door. The noise of ghosts talking to no one was easier to hear and she saw more than a dozen spirits walking around. She imagined it was worse for him and felt even worse.
"Can you see her?" she asked Fisher and Jack.
-----
Ophelia looked so distressed and upset, and oh God she was crying... how the hell could Fisher do anything but help her? He really, really, really didn't want to go down there. But he would. After all, most of the spirits couldn't hurt them. "You don't have to... it's okay, Ophelia. Really." He smiled a little, trying to be reassuring. But as soon as that door opened, his face froze. It was practically glowing down there, there were so many ghosts, packed together like sardines. Some looked up at Fisher and Ophelia, some seemed oblivious to them, some glared at Jack as though she had brought cursed living into their realm.
"N-no," Fisher stammered, in response to Ophelia's question. "But there's... oh boy." His hand groped for hers, grabbing it tightly. He wasn't a person who liked to be touched, but right now he needed it. "There are hundreds of them," he said, forcing himself to take the first step downward. As they descended the voices got louder, clearer. His mouth had gone dry. Stretched out before them was a long, dark tunnel, graffiti etched onto the walls. Several other tunnels branched out from it. Taking a deep breath, Fisher stepped off the stairs and onto the ground, four ghosts brushing by him. He shivered, their essence so cold.
"I don't know where she is," Jack admitted, huddled behind Fisher's shoulder. She wanted to help, but she didn't know where to start and everyone down here scared her. Fisher glanced at his ghostly companion before squaring his shoulders, feigning confidence. "Let's start looking," he said.
---
There were times when she was more emotional than necessary. Now her friend was gone for the second time and Ophelia happened to be scared. If Aya were alive, Ophelia would be at her wit's end. As it were, she decided to go forth and support Fisher - the look on his face proved that she had to do it. She wondered what he saw to make him so panicked and what she could do to help.
She was not expecting him to take her hand and had they been single and straight, she might have blushed. Ophelia squeezed back to let him know she was there for him and stepped forward along with him. Voices sounded all around her, many of them, oh how many were there? She felt the cold as well and cringed, peering forward into the darkness as if she would somehow be able to see Aya. Concentrating like that forced her to see more spirits and suddenly she felt sick. The combination of anxiety and nausea was not a good one, but nonetheless she continued down the hallway. This was no doubt doing this was torturous for Fisher and she felt so guilty.
"What if she doesn't want anything to do with me?" she whispered. Maybe the whole excursion was pointless.
--- Even though the hallway was crowded, and even though Fisher could see every ghost that bumped into them, glared at them, ignored them, he did not want to change places with Ophelia. He could hear them talking all around them, and it freaked him out, since there were so many voices coming from so many places. The echo throughout the enclosed space didn't help any either. Still, at least he could see where a few of the random muttering came from. Poor Ophelia probably couldn't, which must have made her feel like she was going mad.
"If we go all the way down here, and we find her, and she doesn't want to have anything to do with you... well then frankly she's not worth having around." He pulled her along, trying to focus on the conversation. The less he had to think about where they were and who was around them, the better. "I mean, come on Ophelia... you're going to rescue her even though she's dead. That's a level of loyalty you just can't ignore. She'll probably go to pieces when she sees you, and she'll be so grateful that you came for her, she'll let you see her." He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I mean, if I were her, I would."
---
So many voices all around her. It was as though she was walking through a crowd she could halfway see and it was unnerving. Ophelia still felt sick as she tried in vain to search for her friend and held onto Fisher's hand tightly. What if the ghosts tried to attack her? Was that possible? She hoped they sensed she had no ill intent and didn't want to disturb him. Her red curls fell somewhat across her face, more than ever wanting to find Aya soon. Fisher tried to comfort her and for the most part, it was working. Aya had to be happy to see her and Ophelia wanted to be able to see her more than anything.
"Right," she said. "I know, but I still..." She didn't know what she worried about exactly and bit her lip, eyes darting back and forth just in case. Ophelia returned the squeeze with one of her own. "Thank you. You're a really great friend." Who else would go searching for ghosts with her? Not many people. Maybe this was to be her lucky day at last. "Aya?" she called out. It was worth a shot. Her breath caught in her throat a couple of times and she had to remember to calm herself down - it would be okay, she thought.
-----
Ophelia was worrying for nothing. At least, Fisher hoped that was the case. He couldn't understand Aya at all, but then again she was a twelve year old girl and they were quite impossible to understand. Why would she follow Ophelia around for years, then disappear just because her friend knew she was there? He would think Aya would be happy that she could finally talk to Ophelia properly. Women- he would never understand them.
He hated being down here. It was creepy as hell and it was dark. He did not envy the vampires who has to walk down here to move from building to building. Ophelia's voice bounced off the cavernous walls, which seemed to annoy a few spirits. Calling out didn't seem to be doing any good. Except...
Far down the hallway, Fisher saw a small girl whip her head around quickly, her eyes wide. She was tough to see from so far off, but the fact that she had such a strong reaction to the voice was a good sign. "I think I found her," he murmured, tugging Ophelia along quickly. Sure enough, there was Aya, huddled against a wall looking small and meek. Fisher didn't blame her, what with the creepy ass ghosts everywhere. They were all in various states of demise, some electrocuted, some drowned, some overdosed, some just wasted away. He stood before Aya, letting go of Ophelia's hand to point out where her friend stood. Jack clung to Fisher's other arm tightly, trying to ignore the dead around her.
---
When she started worrying, it was bad. Difficult to stop. Her heart still pounded rapidly in her chest, hands clenched once in a while as she walked. Ophelia's breath caught in her throat as she heard Fisher say he found her and hurried with him to the spot against the wall. She could see nothing still and her stomach sank, feeling nauseous. Why was she unable to see her best friend, but the other several ghosts hanging around the place? "Aya, please!" she pleaded. "I want to know if you're all right. I came here just for you!" The last bit of her sentence had an edge to it because she was that frustrated.
Then, slowly, a transparent figure began to appear in front of her. Ophelia gasped as she saw Aya's features and tears started to well in her eyes. "I need to go," the ghost of her friend said. "You rely on me too much. You have friends now... alive ones." It hurt to hear Aya say that because Ophelia had always considered her to be the only friend she needed. Now they could be together again!
"No, don't say that! We can be together now." Ophelia's words fell on deaf ears as Aya shook her head.
"Goodbye, Ophelia," said Aya softly and started to run down the hallway. Ophelia increased her pace and ran after her, tears flowing freely now. She could barely see her and it was very worrying; she called out her name to no avail. And then she disappeared. Ophelia kept running to the end of the tunnel and saw no one at the end - that tore her apart. Aya had left her for good the second time and she wasn't sure she could handle it.
She curled into a ball on the ground and sobbed hard, despair and hurt running deep inside her.
----- Fisher had dealt with a lot of people in crisis. It came with the territory when you spoke to dead relatives a lot. But what was going on right now, between Aya and Ophelia... It was just cold. Ophelia had ventured into the dark for her friend, come to find her and Aya just walked away? His heart was breaking just from watching the two girls, from seeing Ophelia's face as her heart was crushed. Fisher didn't know what to do. What did you say in a situation like this?
Suddenly Ophelia took off running, down the hallway and into the darkness. Fisher looked at Jack, stunned. Should they follow her? What if she caught up with Aya, and they talked, and they needed to be alone? Or worse... what if she didn't catch Aya? He couldn't let her be down here alone. Walking slowly, Jack and Fisher followed Ophelia. The ghosts around them parted to let them pass, which was a lot more unnerving than when Fisher had been bumping into them. He felt so very watched and it crepped him out.
When Fisher caught up to Ophelia she was on the ground, crying. Oh, God. He never knew what to say to comfort people, and he felt awkward trying to console someone, and he knew that he was going to start crying himself any minute now. As a precaution he wiped the eyeliner off his face with his sleeve. No need to come out looking like an unholy mess. Fisher sat on the floor beside Ophelia, not sure if he should hug her or not. Jack sat on the other side of the redhead, touching her shoulder gently. Neither of them knew how to console Ophelia, but they wouldn't leave her until she was ready to go.
---
Wave after wave of hurt washed over her and leaked more tears. The grief led to anger and the anger dived into numbness, which was where Ophelia landed after a couple of minutes crying. She started to walk without knowing where she was going, not even paying attention to small rocks and holes in the way. Her subconscious led her back to her room and she saw Aya's sword against the wall where she kept it.
New anger swept over her. What should she do when her best friend left her so suddenly? Didn't she even care? "I don't understand," she murmured. She took the sword still in its sheath and half expected Aya to appear in the doorway to demand it back. All those years of her watching and not giving any sign to Ophelia that she was there - or maybe she just did not see them. The possibility of that depressed her. The sword dropped to the floor and she sat on her bed, defeated.
She wanted to vomit. Instead she stared at her lap and started to cry again. She doesn't like me anymore. No one likes me, thought Ophelia. The thought panicked her, causing her to stand from the bed and pressed her face against Fisher's chest before she could help it. Her hands clenched his shirt. "I don't know what to do," she said, throat swelling and hurting as more tears fell. "I hate her but I can't because she was my best friend... and I missed her every day." Her words were muffled by his shirt so she stepped away from him a little.
"I'm sorry I made you go to the tunnels when it was scary and for making you listen to me now." Ophelia's gaze fell to the floor. "You don't have to hang around someone like me anymore..." She was younger and no doubt very annoying.
---- There was nothing worse than not being able to do anything. Fisher sat with Ophelia as she cried, looking at Jack every once in awhile as if to ask her what the hell he should do. Jack usually shrugged. Fisher managed to keep himself from tearing up, but only because he felt so uncomfortable. God, he was so useless- here was his friend, bawling her eyes out, and what could he say to her? Nothing. He was still a little stunned that Aya had left. What the hell was that all about? Ophelia had come down here specifically to find her friend, and this was the thanks she got? It was stupid and it was cruel.
When Ophelia got up Fisher followed, mainly because Jack got up with the girl and kicked him in the shin for sitting there. He walked with the girl back to her bedroom, staying silent. Apparently she expected him to follow her, or at least didn't mind that he was, because even as they entered Ophelia's room, she did not acknowledge Fisher's presence for awhile. When Ophelia spoke it was soft, and hurt, and it was breaking his heart. He didn't understand either, but before he could think of anything to say Ophelia had buried her face against his chest, grabbign his shirt. He tensed up immediately, almost expecting her to hit him. Thankfully she didn't. Instead she apologized, which was ten times worse. "No, you... It's okay." God, she was really tugging at the heartstrings. "I didn't... you're... Jesus," he sighed, frustrated with himself. He wrapped his arms around Ophelia, pulling her into a tight hug. "You're being ridiculous," he told her flatly. "Of course I want to hang around someone like you. I just wish I had something constructive to tell you. I think maybe... maybe she's scared of you. You're living your life and moving on and she's just kind of... stuck. And that's hard for some ghosts to accept." He hoped what he said was at least a little comforting. It was hard to imagine how hurt she felt right now.
---
Being abandoned and left alone was scary, one of the things she hated, and to have it happen with her best friend was tough. Impossible for her, she was sure. She felt as though she wanted the ground to swallow her up and only Fisher's presence prevented her from falling apart completely. They were new friends and having her rely on him so much right now might not be wise, but he was all she had at present. She listened to his words, standing close to him, and his explanation comforted. It seemed like it was all her fault... maybe it was Aya's.
"Thanks," she said. It was all she managed to say, but the words were thick with emotion she was unable to recognize.