Although it had initially been confused by the belief that Rachael had been guided back into his life and then back out again after the revelation, after days of doing nothing but splitting his time between contemplating everything on the beach and sleeping cosily inside of the bungalow, he has finally figured out that reason.
Dressed in a black suit, black shirt and black tie, Jack Nathanson sits at the table in the far corner of a bar somewhere within Salem, Massachusetts, one of his black leather gloved hands, his right, cupped against a small glass that contains whiskey, as his deep blue eyes gaze past the black tinted lenses of his round shades and into the container that holds his drink, whilst wondering what is holding him back from driving the proverbial dagger into his heart. His long, treated, chestnut colour hair is held back in a pony tail by a black band and the silver necklace with the sapphire gem attached, a piece of jewellery he treasures with great sentimentality, is worn around his neck. He looks good, very good, better than he has in a long time and due to the fact that he has slept well and nightmare free since his time at the plane of the oak tree, the dark patches around his eyes have faded well in such a short space of time. Jack had forgotten how wonderful a good nights sleep can truly feel and had cleared up his punished mind somewhat, being able to make sense of some things again, to think rationally too, but with that came a question that needed to be answered.
With everybody he loves out of harms way and no further commitments or desires to spiritually bind him to life, why is Jack still so hesitant to leave everything behind him? Has he missed something? Is it just cowardice?
Cowardice? No, never. Jack is not afraid of death, but he knows that something doesn't feel quite right despite the next step feeling like a natural one to take. It is these questions that he is currently thinking about as the couple of drunks at the bar continue to spout incoherent bullshit at each other much to the landlady's chagrin. It isn't a successful bar by any means but she hopes that the recent renovations will still do wonders down the line, painting the walls a variety of creams, greys and whites with framed certificates hanging all over them, with black wooden stools sat at the bar, a beautifully polished brown oak counter being the bar and a shitload of bottles behind it, serving as a makeshift menu of sorts one can assume, although Jack only drinks when he is at home and when his mood is at it's absolute lowest. Regardless, Jack does feel a small, easily contained desire to remove the two burly, bald, bearded men in matching black toe cap boots, faded, dirty blue jeans and grey tank tops, the only real differences between them being the one on the left having all of his hair on his chin and the other having none at all, the one on the right having green eyes and a protruding chin whilst the other has brown eyes and an over bite. The voluptuous, green eyed woman behind the bar, a rather attractive woman in her late thirties it is presumed, dressedin a purple and yellow floral patterned white dress and black pants, just stays silent and downtrodden, waiting for the two animalistic drunkards to stumble out of the door, as well as the unnervingly cold feeling chap in the corner, so she can close up, go to bed and dream about her perfect world, one that she can reach towards, but just cannot grasp no matter how hard she tries.
“Hmm, perhaps I should batter them” Jack thinks to himself as his lips form an unpretentious smile, contemplating the thought and regarding the potential act as a good deed, but his general lack of motivation at this present time plus the somewhat negative reaction that would probably be aimed at him by a pissed off redhead serves to turn him off the idea. Besides, after having such a meaningful time with the love of his life before and two days after his last nightmare, Jack just doesn't feel like partaking in any violence, her love having triggered not only his own ability to love, but also prompt him to look at himself as somebody whose good side can be as rewarding as his dark side. Rachael wouldn't like it if she was here with him right now and he jumped up and assaulted the burly trolls and since Jack doesn't want to let himself down again or lose the feeling of internal warmth that she had given him, it leads to more weight being placed on the left side of the scale than the right. God damn though, that landlady wants her night to end so badly, being something that she keeps hidden deep within herself but Jack can see it, looking into her eyes and observing the slight movements that she doesn't realise she is making. It must be a thankless job when working in an environment where the people holding the money are divided by scruffy fuckers and jobless yobs. Do this, do that, shut the fuck up, serve drinks, put yourself in a position to grab your tits when you're unprepared, then jolt away and stare daggers at the culprit whilst their friends laugh and praise. Yes, thankless.
“Ahhagh! Fuk Yaaaa!”
It isn't something as big as Jack had expected, like a final match at Straight to the Grave or anything but he finally gets it, realising what he has to do next. To this, he picks up the glass and empties the whiskey in his mouth before taking the glass away and being distracted by the two drunks swinging their fists wildly at each other. It horrifies the landlady but Jack wonders if she is genuinely frightened or just playing up to habit as the one with the beard lands a clobbering left hook into the face of the clean shaven, dropping him like his spirit had just been sucked out of his body. Beard has only a second to celebrate though before suffering the a similar fate as a battle hardened fist slams into the back of his head, causing him to fall forward against the shattered glass and beer coated bar surface and finally down on top of his brother in a heap. Guess Jack got involved after all, but at least it was clean enough, at least for him anyway. The auburn's eyes suddenly increases in intensity as her mouth explodes into a loud tirade of verbal profanity, expressing her hatred for the two to the point where even Jack was a little nervous, but at least she aims it at two and not three, Jack thinks as he grabs both by the hand and drags them outside.
“Good fucking riddance!!! You goddamn piece of shit pigs!!!”
Jack leans back against the door, pushing past it as he drags the two heavy limp fuckers with all of his weight, until finally letting them go so that they're laying on the side walk. He looks up for a second, his eyes staring at the moon and stars that shine brightly in the clear night sky, his body feeling the cold chill and the gusts of wind that pass through the street, wondering just how he had lost so much of his stamina in such a short space of time, or if it was just that dragging two big, fat men was harder work than he thought. Either way, time to face the music, go back inside and help the woman clean up and after taking a deep breath, Jack turns around, pushes through the door and walks back into the bar, letting the door shut behind him.