Memento Mori—U.X.O. Chapter I
Imported from SF2 with no description.
"Jackson, sweetie, we're landing."
Jack's mom gently shook him as the drowsiness of his sleep drifted away. He felt a brief tremble as the plane touched the ground, and as he glanced out the window, he saw the sun just beginning to rise on the horizon. He, his mom, and his dad had just landed in Vermont from Santa Barbara because of his dad's work. Jack had only ever lived in California up to that point, but supposedly his parents grew up here, and this was where his dad had to go. This was just for the summer, however, as he and his mom will be going back to California come autumn. Jack grabbed his backpack from under the seat in front of him and stood to swing it onto his shoulder, standing a bit too quickly in the process. During the time it took to put it on and recover, the aisle had clogged with departing passengers. They waited there for more than he would've liked, but they managed to squeeze their way into the line after only a few short minutes.
His mom, Stella, a short brunette woman who worked as a teacher, held his hand as they walked out of the plane. His dad, Peter, a much taller blond-haired man with glasses, trailed behind them by a few steps. He worked as a researcher for the government in some way. Jack had no idea what he actually did beyond "research" but he tended to work overseas and for very long hours. As he helped his parents carry the luggage into the airport, the familiar jolt and clatter met his ears, and he heard the distant roar of planes on the motorway. The stagnant air of the cabin gave way for the fresh (or mostly fresh) breeze of the airport ACs. They made their way for the baggage claim, walking past the many colorful shops and restaurants lining the right side. Noticing a particularly large selection of candy near the checkout of a clothing store that mostly consisted of thick jackets, Jack gently tugged at his mom's sleeve.
"Can I get some candy?" he half-whispered while pointing to the checkout area of the store.
"We're going to get food in town," she responded in a soft (albeit somewhat passive-aggressive) manner.
"Please?" Jack begged, extending the "e" to accentuate his need for the candy.
"You can wait," his mom replied as she and dad continued on to the baggage claim.
Well, it was worth a shot, Jack thought as he trailed behind his parents a few steps.
After they got their suitcases, they made their way outside and waited for one of dad's friends to pull up. It was a bright Friday morning, not a single cloud was in the sky, allowing the sun to beam its hot ultraviolet light onto the passerby of Burlington. Jack had no idea what the car he was supposed to look out for was, before he saw his dad walk up to a small black car, followed closely by his mom.
The driver, a brown-haired man, got out and hugged his dad. "Hey, Pete! It's so nice to see you again," he said as he released him from the hug.
His mom followed suit, hugging the friend as well, "Oh my goodness, it's been so long, how are you?"
"I'm good, how're you?" he responded.
"I'm doing amazing," she said as she broke away from the hug and turned to Jack, "This is Jackson, our son."
She put her hand on his back and lightly pushed him to the front, forcing him to confront the unfamiliar figure.
"I've heard," the man said as he held his hand out to Jack, "I'm Harry, an old friend of your parents."
"Hi," Jack managed to muster out as he shook Harry's hand.
"It's nice to meet you," Harry replied in a polite manner before turning to Jack's parents to catch up with them. And catch up they did, as they engaged in a conversation that spanned twenty minutes at least in front of Harry's car, which to Jack, dragged on for much longer than he wanted. While they were all deep into a conversation about his parent's life in Santa Barbara, Jack quietly stood behind his mom, and occasionally tugged her sleeve out of boredom as he stared at the ground in thought. It wasn't until she got tired of his incessant nagging and sleeve tugging did she encourage the others to get a move on. The four filed into the car, and Harry got to driving. The car was too hot for Jack's liking, and the AC only served to blow hot air in his face. It cooled after a while, but he still felt the heat anywhere that wasn't directly in front of the AC.
The whole journey was too tiring for Jack. He can usually spot all the landmarks he thought were special or interesting with every drive there, but he couldn't help but try to drift off to sleep during the car ride. Trees were all he saw outside, anyway. The constant talking and laughing over a pop song on the radio prevented Jack from sleeping. He could only manage to stare out of the window in a half-asleep half-awake trance. It all flew by too fast for his drowsy still-developing mind to keep up with. His jet-lagged stupor was broken when his mom, who was sitting next to him, lightly shook him awake, and he saw they stopped at a diner. By this point, the sun reached its peak in the sky, although it looked like rain clouds were forming over the mountains behind them. They quickly filed into the restaurant. It was a western-style diner with a strong Texas aesthetic. The state shape and flag were plastered just about everywhere, and the places that didn't have them had vintage western paraphernalia. The food was average, and like the car ride, Jack just limped along quietly in a near-comatose state while the others were deep in a conversation. At a few points, Jack's mom would force him into the talk, either by telling an embarrassing story or pressing him to answer a question not directed at him. The lunch flew by just as fast as the car ride, and before he knew it, Harry dropped them off and Jack found himself standing in front of a somewhat large hotel. It was just temporary until they could get an apartment to stay at, which according to Jack's father, wasn't too far off.
Arrangements were, supposedly, worked out before they arrived. The door to the hotel room led to a dingy living room and kitchen. The walls were white, colored a dull yellow from the lights, and the carpet was dark red. The whole room smelled of stale apples, with said smell being the strongest in the trash can next to the TV. There were only about two other doors, which Jack later found were a bathroom and bedroom. It was a far cry from the large house they had back in Santa Barbara, but it was cheap and just until they secured an apartment. Upon walking in, dad sat down on the couch and sighed, "Long day, huh?"
"Yeah," Jack's mom said, sitting down next to him and leaning into his chest. She patted the seat next to her to tell Jack to sit, which he did. The couch, despite its cushy appearance, was rather stiff, but it didn't matter to him. He leaned into his mom, as she wrapped her arm around him to bring him closer.
"So, Jack, what do you think of Vermont so far?" she asked. He only responded with a shrug. What could he respond with? So far, he only saw some of the city and a lot of forest. She snickered and tightened her one-armed hug, "You'll see more of it eventually. It's a nice place. Much better than California."
Jack begged to differ, but he only ever knew that place prior to moving, and honestly, he didn't want to leave then, and he certainly wasn't enjoying it now. Although he knew he would be back in California at the end of summer, not being able to be with his friends and playing with them was hard on him. The worst part is, he made a lot of plans with them for summer break and when his parents told him about their trip to Vermont (three weeks prior to departure) he vehemently protested all the way until his parents dragged him to the car and drove to the airport. The family sat in silence for a few minutes, until dad finally piped up. "Hey, Jack, the team and I are working on something you might find interesting."
Jack looked over to him, his curiosity piqued. His dad continued. "You're the perfect person for it."
"What is it?" he asked.
"That." He started, "I cannot tell you now, but I'll try to get you approved for the project."
"You think the others will be fine with Jack on-site?" Jack's mom asked her husband, being just as interested as her son.
"Oh, for sure. They've been interested in bringing someone like him since sh- it was finished," he responded, "since I announced I was coming back, all I've heard from them was getting someone like Jack to come and help them with it."
And just like that, the conversation about that ended. The family would go on to discuss various other topics. Well, Jack's parents did, he mostly sat in silence with his head against his mom's waist, and soon began to drift between consciousness and unconsciousness. Eventually, she noticed how late it was and made them all go to bed. Nobody resisted, as they were all too jet-lagged from the long plane ride. The hotel only had one bed, and it was just as stiff as the couch was and smelled lightly of body odor. And after one final reminder from his mom that the monsters were not, in fact, under the bed, Jack drifted off to sleep for the second time in the hour. He couldn't shake the realization that during the entirety of this summer, the friends he grew up with his whole life were to be relegated to phone calls. He had nothing to do now. Sure, as the week dragged on, his parents bought him video games, books, movies, and the like as a distraction and they eventually moved into a good-quality apartment, but that didn't stop the ongoing hole that was left by his friends, his snug bed, and the Coyote-Man action figure he forgot at home. His mom promised to buy him another Coyote-Man, the newest release in fact, but it just wouldn't be the same. She never did, by the way.
Jack soon forgot about his dad's offer as the month went on, and as June became July, he mostly settled down in the apartment. He would occasionally go out to play with some of the neighborhood children, but he didn't grow as close to them, as in he hardly even knew any of their names. His friends back in California always talked about what they did outside over the phone, which made him a bit envious, but he never vocalized it. This may have been the first time ever that Jack actually looked forward to going back to school. At least Kevin and the other fifth graders in that clique won't pester him anymore.
It was the fifth of July now, and Jack just got home from a few hours of playing baseball with the other kids. He didn't talk much, which the other kids got used to, but he was proficient enough at baseball that nobody else questioned him. His dad was home earlier than usual, wearing a casual long-sleeved flannel and jeans (in the middle of summer). "Hey, Jack," he said. "Remember that offer I told you about a few weeks ago? Well, the team wants you now."
Honestly, Jack didn't remember what he was talking about at first, but he humored his dad, "what do I have to do?"
"Just come and visit us. It's not far, and it's pretty close to a good pizza place, so we can go there when we're done."
Now he really wanted to go. He was already fairly interested in the mystery of what his dad was hiding, but good pizza? Now he was sold on going there. Jack nodded and said, "Yeah, I'll go."
"I like your enthusiasm," he responded with a smile, "I'll take you there Monday."