Strangetown, Here We Come: Chapter Thirty-Four - part two
Warnings: language, violence, drug use, and sexual situations
Chapter Thirty-Four
Part Two
"Excuse me, ma'am..."
"What would you say if I offered you another chance at life?"
"Sorry, but did you just call me ma'am?"
"Ripp, there are two types of people in the world. Those with easy lives and those with hard lives. And the people with easy lives could never fucking understand what it's like to be us."
"You do realize that you're supposed to become a rock star BEFORE you overdose, right hon?"
"So what do you say? Marry me?"
Jaxy Rai believed there were only two types of people in the world. Many different people, but only two basic types: the rich and the poor, the safe and the fearful, the happy and the sad. Those who have it easy, and those who do not.
Those at top of the heap and those on the botttom.
Some sims have it all.
Their lives are a series of achievements. They fulfill their every want, their every wish.
While others realize only their worst fears. They stumble and fall. They fail where others succeed.
Some sims, like herself, nearly wipe themselves off the face of the planet.
Jaxy woke up to find herself in the hospital again.
The days were blurring together there, and she wasn't even sure how long it had been anymore. It was all the sleeping, she was sure. She had no idea if she was awake or asleep half the time, so it was no big surprise that her sense of time was shot to hell.
Jaxy Rai felt better that day; just a little bit better.
She moved her arm and could feel the IV pulling at her wrist. The arm felt all numb and tingly, like it was asleep. They had to stick the needle in about seven times before finding a vein that wasn't completely constricted. Lucky seven.
A nurse walked by the room and took a look inside to check on her. What must they think of her, she wondered?
Not much, probably.
The old man across from her was asleep, and had no visitors, which was a huge relief. Jaxy was sick of those nosy people. They were probably just trying to be friendly, but she hated answering their questions.
"Do your parents know you're in here, love?"
"I have no parents."
That had shut her up, quickly enough, and as far as the hospital was concerned, it was true. Jaxy hadn't even listed a next of kin. She'd given them Zoe's cell as her only contact. She really didn't have any family, or not anyone she'd want to have contacted, at least.
She did have a family. She had one. She used to have one.
Dread future in a hand that was a quiet man
Two sides to the story
The back was cracked, the palm was scarred, the thing was beaten and tied
Momma, can I take a step?
Can I get what I expect?
Yes, you can son, but first you got to put out the fire
Sort of.
She still had a mother, in the biological sense. She hadn't been much of a parent to her in those last number of years, but she was still there. She was alive.
Her father was dead, and it was just as well. He deserved to die. Calling him her father was giving him too much credit. Calling him a "him" was giving him too much credit. He was an animal. Someone with no humanity in him at all.
Maybe he had been human once, but Jaxy doubted it. She'd never seen it.
All she had seen was violence.
His death came as a relief to them both, she was sure, though her mother never spoke about it. Instead, she drank, she smoked, she did anything she could to avoid inhabiting her own body.
Jaxy was very much like her.
Well, it was better than the alternative. Sometimes she feared that maybe she had turned after her father.
Eventually, her mother met someone else. The new guy, Toby Grundham, wasn't much better, but he could never live up to the terror that came before him. He'd never have her birth father's mastery of physical violence, but he was still very controlling. He was manipulative, a chameleon.
He was pleasant and fun-loving when he was up, but when things got ugly, when things wore off, he was very short-tempered and very agressive.
Above all, he was unpredictable, so Jaxy gave him a wide berth.
He didn't had much time for Jaxy, either. He resented having her around. The teenaged daughter of his woman's last husband, she was a constant reminder that he wasn't number one.
Why would he want Jaxy around? It made sense, she figured. By his logic, she was sure there were only a handful of uses she could possibly have.
But he hadn't raped her, or anything like it. There was a reason Jaxy never told anyone her life story. By the time she reached this part, she could just imagine that people would assume she'd had some terrible, stunting experience with men. Of course she'd been sexually assualted, they'd think. That was why she hated men. She'd just never met the right guy.
The right man would fix her right up, they'd think.
But they could go fuck themselves as far as Jaxy was concerned. She was what she was, and it had nothing to do with some slimebag. It had everything to do with herself.
Besides, she didn't even really hate men. She hated assholes like Toby and her father. There was a huge difference.
Not long after Toby started coming around, Petunia Rai became pregnant with her second child.
Not that it stopped her drug and alcohol problem. If anything, Jaxy figured it got worse.
That was why it was so hard for her to pity her mother, in those years that followed. She was hardly innocent. Like Jaxy, she chose to self-medicate, and surely she had some very good reasons when it all started, or as good a reason as one could have, but then she was granted a pardon from that life. She'd received a miracle in the form of a husband face-down in his own failure. She could have tried to straighen her life out after that, and helped Jaxy do the same.
She hadn't done that. Jaxy had always resented her for that, but now, having done something much the same to herself, she felt more pity for her than resentment. It was easier to relate to her mother back in those days, at least. Not that she wanted to.
Times had been hard.
Very hard.
But when she tried to help, she was told to mind her own fucking business, so after a while she did just that.
Against all odds, Silas Grundham was eventually born, and he seemed reasonably healthy, all things considered.
It could have been worse.
Jaxy did what she could for him, which admittedly, wasn't very much.
She couldn't be there for him every moment of every day, and she had to be careful not to overstep her boundaries. Toby seemed to resent her meddling with his son, so she had to watch herself.
Even worse, she had to watch them.
As for her mother and Toby, things didn't improve after the birth of their son, as Jaxy had hoped they would.
If anything, they became worse. They were on a downward spiral.
After a while, then didn't even have two pennies to rub together, and the repo man starting coming by to take things.
Not that they had much that anyone would want.
Finally, after a neighbour reported them, a social worker came to take Silas away.
It broke Jaxy's heart, but she was glad to see him go. Foster care might be worse, but Jaxy thought the odds were definitely in his favour. There wasn't much further down he could go. She wished him well.
She envied him and his escape. She was happy for him, but she did also envy him.
The loss of Silas made things worse yet again. So finally, she had enough.
Jaxy Rai took it upon herself to leave.
She ran away.
After spending some time on the streets, she met a girl about her age, named Rhiannon D'Or. They became fast friends, as was to be expected in their circumstances. They were both very happy to have the company.
Rhiannon lived from dumpster to dumpster, mostly. She came into money from time to time, though she never gave Jaxy much detail on how she obtained it. At the time, she didn't even think to ask.
Jaxy took up residence with her in an abandoned warehouse, which Rhiannon had been squatting in for some time.
It was nice there. Peaceful. Jaxy had better memories of that damp old place than her childhood home, which she supposed was really sad.
Jaxy had many fond memories of Rhiannon.
One memory in particular stuck with her. They had been drinking and took some sort of pills that Rhiannon had been saving for a special ocassion. Jaxy didn't even know what they were, but they made her see things. Things that weren't really there.
"Do you see them, Jax?" Rhiannon asked, glancing upward.
"See what?"
"The diamonds," she said. "The coloured diamonds."
They looked up, and watched the shapes twirling above their heads.
"Yeah, I see them. That's fucked up."
"Pretty cool."
"Your's is yellow," Jaxy said.
"Your's is red. It's so red..."
"That doesn't seem like a good thing."
"Are you in pain?"
"No," she said, " not really." Or was she? There were many kinds of pain, and Jaxy Rai was good at pretending she didn't feel it.
"I want to see if I can touch it," said Rhiannon.
She stood up, then stumbled. Jaxy reached for her leg to steady her, and her hand slid along the length of it. They paused, and she continued to move her hand over the surface of her leg, gliding upward.
She caught herself.
"Sorry."
Rhiannon looked down at her, but didn't speak. She lowered herself down to the mattress again. Then, without any warning, she leaned over and kissed Jaxy.
She pulled her closer. From there, closer and closer.
Later, Rhiannon took her hand. "Look up," she said. "The diamonds. Can you still see them?"
Jaxy looked up. "Yeah," she said. "I see them."
"Now they're white."
They were bright white. They shone, brilliant and bright.
Like that, Rhiannon had been a bright spot in her life, but like most good things in Jaxy's life, she had been lost. Rhiannon disapppeared from her life just as quickly as she had appeared.
Jaxy never understood it, but one day she was just gone. She left one day, just as she always did, but she never returned.
Your past-times, consisted of the strange
And twisted and deranged
And I hate that little game you had called
Crying lightning
Crying lightning
Crying lightning
Crying lightning
Your past-times, consisted of the strange
And twisted and deranged
And I hate that little game you had called
Crying
Jaxy stayed there, in the warehouse, thinking it would probably be the last place she was ever seen, also. Whatever happened to Rhiannon would probably happen to her too, and nobody would know the difference.
Nobody would care. Nobody would even know.
Who had she been kidding? Her life would not get better.
This same thought had been what she had been thinking about just before her overdose. She was kidding herself. It would never get better.
Nobody every clawed their way up from the very bottom of the barrel.
Then a miracle happened.
She had been accepted to university.
She had applied, not thinking she'd have a chance, but Jaxy had always been clever. Against all odds, she'd grown up to be smart, with a talent for music. It certainly hadn't been a product of her upbringing.
So she went to La Fiesta Tech., surviving on the scholarships she earned with her good grades. When she wasn't studying, she was learning to play the guitar, and hopping from bed to bed with nearly every woman on campus. Then she started dating D.J. Verse, which had been good for a time, and she got herself more and more to thinking that she'd form a band and make a name for herself, and she'd never looked back. To that day, it was still her dream.
Then she met Zoe, and the rest is history.
Zoe was a free spirit, but tough and intelligent. She didn't give two shits what anyone thought of her. She was pretty well off, the only child of an upper middle class family, but you'd never know it from the way she behaved. She had no sense of entitlement, and she could party like a seasoned criminal.
Her parents were professors, and had been very permissive. Growing up, Zoe had been around mostly adults, and frequented her parent's house parties.
"I lost my virginity to a Simlish proff," she had confessed once. "He was twice my age, at least. He smelled like musty old books, but it was pretty alright. Good as you could ask for, really."
"Gross."
"Hey, don't knock 'til you tried it, hon."
Zoe had appealed to Jaxy right away. On the surface, she was perfect. Gorgeous and tough, and carried herself with confidence. They were a perfect match in personality and interests, but it was also much more than that.
Zoe had done the truly unexpected.
She had been there for Jaxy in her darkest hour. She'd seen her falling into the abyss, and jumped in after her.
Zoe loved her. Really loved her.
It was all Jaxy could ask for. She knew the sorts of sorry excuses for love that were out there. The power and control and fear and pain that masqueraded as love. To find something real was something to truly be thankful for.
Zoe was something to be thankful for.
And she returned to the hospital each and every day, helping Jaxy to pass the hours.
She was a sounding board for Jaxy's new songs, and ideas for songs, and ideas for how awesome things would be if only she could get out there and perform said songs.
And then there'd been the ring. A real, honest to goodness, diamond engagement ring. A fucking rock.
She'd been floored. Blown away.
Even now, she found herself staring at it, as if she didn't quite believe it was there, on her finger.
"You have some visitors," the nurse said, drawing her out from her thoughts.
Jaxy barely had time to look up before Ripp and Zoe popped into the room.
"Hey," Zoe said.
"Hey, Jax! How's it hanging?" Ripp asked.
"Oh god, you dumb shit," she said. "You fucking loser."
"I love you too."
"Very funny, smartass."
"What?!" He feigned ignorance. "What do you mean? You don't like my hair? I thought you would!"
"God, you're such a fucking loser, Ripp."
"Yeah, but you love me."
She conceded to a smile, which had obviously been what he had been going for with the whole gag. "It looks better on me," she said.
"No way! I'm dead sexy."
"I can't believe you let him do that," Jaxy said, turning to Zoe.
Zoe laughed. "Hey, if he has a death wish, who am I to stand in his way? He's a big boy."
"Yeah, big and ugly."
"Hey!"
"So you wanna go for a little walk or something?" Zoe asked. "We came to take you to the park next door."
Once they got clearing to take Jaxy out for a while, the three of them headed over the park next to the hospital.
It was nice to finally breathe some fresh air. Jaxy was beginning to feel like a sim again.
She felt her head grow light and tingly, which had been happening to her on and off ever since she'd gone into the hospital. It was a remnant of her overdose. Maybe it was something that would go away, or maybe it was permanent damage. Only time would tell. The thought made her anxious.
But still, she'd go on. She had to. As always, she needed to fight against the things she had no choice in, but also the things she'd done to herself. She didn't know which was worse.
"You okay, Jax?" Zoe asked.
"Yeah, you haven't even tried to knee me in the nuts yet," Ripp said. "What's up?"
"I'm okay," she said, "It's nothing."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
She looked up at them both, smiling back at her. "Thanks for coming," she said.
They wandered into the the park, soaking up the sunshine. It was a beautiful day.
"So you crazy bitches are getting married," Ripp said. "That's fucking insane."
"Fucking awesome, is what it is. We're going to have a sweet party. You can be a bridesman or man of honour or whatever the fuck you'd like to be called, if you want. We're not really having a ceremony, though. Just a quick thing, and then a party."
"Really? That's awesome. I'd love to." Then after a moment, he added, "I don't have to wear a dress, do I?"
"Oh, speaking of... what's this I hear about you and Franky Worthington, Ripp? Finally ran out of chicks, did you?"
"So what. So I may have let him suck my dick a little. Big fucking deal. Doesn't count."
"Oh, it counts, honey. And I'll bet by 'him' you mean 'you,' and by 'dick' you mean 'ass.'"
"And that's not all," Zoe said, "Not only was it baby's first guy on guy, but he also dates couples now too." She laughed. "Isn't that right, Ripp?"
He shrugged. "Whatever."
"Ripp's not fooling anyone. I can see right through that. I see right through it to the bone. He just wants a fucking piece of the key lime pie, and he always has."
Ripp shot her a dirty look, but then let it go and shrugged. "Hey, if someone offers me a slice, what am I going to do? Turn it down? Fuck that."
"I always knew you were an all purpose slutbag. You're a dirty whore. You fuck anything that moves. Probably even shit that doesn't move. A hole in the wall... a donut."
"Baby likes his pie, okay?" Zoe laughed. "It's okay," she said, patting Ripp's shoulder. "I like pie too. Tasty, tasty pie."
"Bleh. Not me," Jaxy said. "Muffins only, thanks."
"Mmmm... I could go for some muffins right now," Ripp said.
"Real muffins or muffin muffins?"
"I'll take whatever what I can get." He winked.
"Yeah, let's go get something to eat," Zoe suggested.
They walked along the street until they came to a bistro. All in all, it was a pretty great day.
Jaxy was released from the hospital that same week, and she managed to complete the requirements to graduate.
Shortly after that, they found a new drummer for the band.
Her name was Helena Summerdream, and, as Jaxy put it, she was "a fucking demon on a drumkit."
I got nine lives
Cat's eyes
Abusin' every one of them and running wild
'Cause I'm back
Yes, I'm back
Well, I'm back
Yes, I'm back
Well, I'm back, back
(Well) I'm back in black
Yes, I'm back in black
Jaxy and Zoe moved into an apartment together in downtown Sim City.
For the first time in a long, long while, Jaxy found herself to be really and truly happy. Things were finally looking up for her.
She had been given another shot at life.
She knew it would never be easy, but she knew it could be okay. The future could be different. It could be better.
It could always be better.
Elsewhere in Sim City, three women sat around a fire, hidden in an alleyway.
The youngest listened intently as the women with red hair spoke about the threat of invasion by aliens.
"These are dangerous times," said the woman with red hair. "Our species is slowly being invaded by another. The aliens could eventually breed us out of existence."
"Do you think they intend to harm us?" the girl asked.
"I wouldn't know that, but I do know that we intend to harm them." She shuffled her weight and settled into place. "I've heard things. Before too long, you'll hear them too. My name is Alex, by the way. Alex O'Mackey."
"Rhiannon."
They both glanced over at the other woman, expecting her to provide a name, but Kimberley Cordial remain silent. After several moments, she finally said, "You can call me Kimberley."
"Can you tell me more about the aliens?" Rhiannon asked. "Are they really coming?"
"They're here. They're already here."
"If you're even half awake, you could probably spot a ship on any given night. They're out there - everywhere!"
"Are they really such a threat to us?"
"Maybe."
"All I know is that it's something we should keep an eye on. We need to keep on our toes. This is the greatest struggle of our time!" she exclaimed.
Next to her, Kimberley scoffed. "Do you really think so? There are much bigger things to worry about than that."
"I would worry more about our own kind. We don't need any help from an alien race to bring about our own destruction. There are fools out there who would attempt to manipulate the very fabric of our existence, in the name of greed, or worse... for some vague sense of curiosity. Sims seeking things they're better off leaving alone."
"Well, yes. I suppose that is true. But that would happen anyway. It doesn't make the alien threat any less urgent."
"Did you know that there are people out there who would attempt to meddle with life itself, and even death? No ordinary sim should attempt to achieve such things."
"Speaking of death," Alex said, "the fire is dying."
Kimberley stood up, poked the fire around with a stick, then quickly waved her hand at it, and the flames lept back to life.
She turned, and sat back down.
"How did you do that?" Alex asked.
"All it needed was some air."
She didn't question it, but she kept looking at her, with a thoughtful expression on her face.
Kimberley returned to her previous topic of conversation. "There's a man who calls himself Mr. Humble, and he's out there, just as I mentioned, seeking things he should leave well enough alone, and spreading dangerous ideas."
"Oh, I met him!" Rhiannon exclaimed.
"He tried to sell me his magic beans, or whatever."
"What did he say to you?" Kimberley asked.
"He wanted me to follow him, to become, like, a follower of whatever he is."
"What did you say?" Kimberley asked.
"I said no. I mean, it was tempting. Life is tough, and he made it sound really good, but I said thanks, but no thanks."
"I mean, I'm not stupid or anything. I know anyone who offers you something like that probably wants something awfully big in return."
"There is great truth in that," Kimberly said, "but there is something else you should know."
"This man you met, this Mr. Humble, as he calls himself, he distorts the truth. The things he says are not lies, but they aren't fully true either. They are half truths, and that is even worse than an outright lie."
"What do you mean?"
"He claims to have a key to unlock another chance at life, but sims have always held that power within themselves. They are constantly reborn. Even now, as we sit here, there are endless variations of ourselves, playing out their parallel lives. Each of them unique, each of them correct in their own way."
"How do you know that?" Rhiannon asked.
"I know things," she said, with finality. "You will have to take my word for it."
"You're a... you're something different, aren't you? Something more than just a sim."
Alex turned her stare towards Kimberley, waiting for an answer to the question she had also been asking herself that whole time.
Kimberley smiled. "Perhaps."
They waited, but no further information was offered.
"Well, I think it's all bullshit," Alex O'Mackey said. "We only get one life. That's why it's so important for us to live our life to the fullest."
"I had one life and I discovered that it was the wrong life, so I left it behind. All this talk about fate and multiple realities is nice and all, but it doesn't make any difference to me, in this life."
"What did you leave behind?" Rhiannon asked
Alex stared silently into the flames. "Nevermind that. It doesn't matter. The past is in the past."
"I have better things to worry about - like travelling to distant lands, finding riches and adventure! A mundane life is not for me!"
"That sounds so exciting," Rhiannon said. "I wish I could do that."
"Well, why not? I've been all over Sim Earth. You just have to get out there and do it!"
"Where will you go next?"
"I've spent some time as a pirate on the high seas, and in my travels I've heard that there's even such a thing in outer space."
"A space pirate?"
"Yes, maybe."
"Stranger things have happened," Kimberley confirmed.
After an hour or two, the fire died out, and this time Kimberley did not revive it.
The three women stood up and brushed themselves off.
"Well, ladies," Kimberley said, "It's been an honour to spend these hours with you. I enjoy nothing better than the company of other women, especially such strong and wise women as yourselves. I wish you well."
"Thank you," Rhiannon said, "and goodnight. It was nice to meet you both."
"Happy trails," Alex said.
And then they were gone.
Notes: The previous installments that relate to Jaxy's overdose, and other parts of this chapter, are Chapter 25 (part 3), Dr. Gone, and Nice to Meet You.
The songs are Fire Hill by Royal Trux, Crying Lightning by The Arctic Monkeys, and Back in Black by AC/DC. All are awesome.
This jumps around a little in a sort of stream of consciousness way, at least where images are concerned, but if you've ever spent any time half asleep for days in a hospital, you'll understand why I did it that way.
I thought I would never, ever finish this chapter. Seriously, never. But here it is. The story lives on. Thank you for your patience in waiting for this one.
And, as always, thanks for reading! ^_^
(Continue to Chapter 35)