End of Day 5
Eventually Joey pushed away from JC and stood, his gruff exterior having returned. He mumbled about going outside to talk to Lance when JC gave him a questioning look and quickly left the house.
JC sighed in exasperation and emptied his mug of coffee into the sink, no longer having a desire for it. He watched as Joey sat down next to Lance on the edge of the dock as they began to talk closely. JC bowed his head and gripped the edge of the sink tightly, desperation overcoming his spirit.
He quickly left the kitchen and stood at the doorway to the living room, overlooking Chris who was lying on the couch, staring aimlessly at the tv. He took a deep breath before saying, �Chris, I�m so sorry.�
Chris twisted his neck in JC�s direction and his brow furrowed together in confusion. �For what? I�m the one who wanted to come here.�
JC wrung his hands together in nervousness and strode over to the chair next to the couch and sat down. His leg bounced up and down in nervousness as he searched for the right words. �It�s all my fault that you got hurt. I should have warned you.�
�Warned me about what?� asked Chris curiously, as he struggled to sit up into a more comfortable position.
Immediately JC began telling Chris everything he knew, from the change in their friends� behavior, to the dreams he had, and the newsletter article confirming whom those dreams were about. Finally when he finished, he looked at Chris expectantly, who sat there with his mouth open. �Well, what do we do?�
Chris� mouth snapped closed and he laughed bitterly. �Nice try, Jayce. When are you going to realize that you suck at practical jokes?�
JC made an aggravated sound in the back of his throat. He knew Chris wouldn�t believe him but he had hoped. �Chris, I�m dead serious.�
Chris snorted in disgust and grabbed the remote and began channel surfing. �You�re a horrible liar, too. You don�t have to make up stories to placate me cause I�m moping about wasting a fucking vacation turn.�
Before JC could reply Joey came walking in, grumbling under his breath and looking ready to kill. He acknowledged neither of them as he quickly made his way to the bathroom. JC looked at Chris pointedly.
�You know for a fact that Joey has never been this grumpy. Even after a night of clubbing where he�s barely gotten four hours of sleep he�s always been happy and upbeat.� Chris looked blankly at JC. �If that doesn�t tell you something�s weird, then try taking a look at Justin. He�s reverted back to being a five year old.�
Chris rolled his eyes. �JC, you know as well as I do that Justin�s always acted like a child if he doesn�t get his way. It�s in his nature.�
�Is it Lance�s nature to stand over Justin preaching about sinning and that Justin is a dirty little sinner and needs to be beaten as a punishment,� demanded JC, his voice raising an octave. Chris looked at JC in shock and JC continued, �Yeah, I found Lance standing over Justin, who was curled into a tiny, trembling ball yesterday and Lance was five seconds away from wailing on him.�
�Fuck,� muttered Chris. He rubbed his hands over his face and looked at JC. �When�d they get like this?�
�I don�t know,� sighed JC. �It sure as hell didn�t happen overnight, though. I don�t know how to turn them back. Mrs. Dafoe said we should leave.�
�The woman in your dream?� asked Chris. JC nodded. �If the chick you dreamed of is the Mrs. Dafoe then I�d say we�d better high tail it out of here. Pronto.�
�But�but what if when we leave the guys don�t change back. Who�s to say that when we leave they just stay the way they are,� questioned JC worriedly. �If it wasn�t for that fact I would have packed y�all up and left this fucking house days ago.�
�Oh man,� muttered Chris. �You�re right. Fuck, what do we do?�
JC shrugged. �I dunno, man. I have absolutely no idea what to do.� Chris worried his bottom lip as he thought.
~*JC and Justin�s Room*~
After talking with Chris and getting nowhere, JC had gone up to his room to take a nap. He hoped that maybe Mrs. Dafoe would appear to him once more with some helpful information.
�Do you know what�s happening to my friends?� asked JC, desperately.
�Not a thing occurs in this house without my knowing,� she replied.
�Then what happened to them?�
�They�ve, somehow, turned into members of my family. Justin has shown likeness akin to Allison, my youngest daughter.�
JC nodded. �Yeah, he mentioned making a new friend yesterday. He called her Ali.�
Mrs. Dafoe smiled softly. �Yes, that was a name I called her on many occasions.� She paused for a moment, a look of nostalgia overtaking her features. �Joey has taken on aspects of Butch, the anger and violence; the way he closes himself off from the world. Chris hasn�t taken on any likeness in character to any of my family but now that he has an injured ankle, he may take on Marc. Before Marc was mur-� she stopped and corrected her wording, �before Marc died he had been bed ridden with a football injury, a broken leg.� JC nodded and she continued. �Lance is like my husband, the drawings and the pushing of his beliefs.�
�You have to tell me how to change my friends back,� insisted JC.
�It is not my place to tell,� replied Mrs. Dafoe calmly.
�Then tell me who I�m supposed to ask.�
�I told you to leave, Josh. You did not heed my warning, you have chosen your destiny and the destiny of your friends.�
�My friends and I have done nothing to deserve this,� growled JC.
�You disrupted my family�s resting place. You and your friends should have left well enough alone.�
JC slammed his fist on the table and shouted, �We didn�t know this was going to happen!�
�That is irrelevant,� she replied softly. �Your friend Chris knew of the house�s origin and should have known better than to come here.�
�Just tell me what I�m supposed to do! Tell me that so I can do it and we can get the hell out of here and leave your family at rest!�
Mrs. Dafoe stood from her place at the kitchen table and looked down. �I told you, that is not my place to tell. I have put myself at risk telling you all that I have.�
�At risk from who?� asked JC.
She had not answered and JC found himself wide awake in his bed, not a step closer in helping his friends.
~*~
Joey and Lance walked up the stairs and stood at the top. Lance turned to Joey at asked, �The plan is for tonight, yes?�
Joey nodded. �When the others are asleep we�ll begin the preparations.�
�Then at midnight the plan goes into action.� confirmed Lance. Joey nodded once again and they parted ways to go to their respective rooms.