Chains Nonetheless

Daniel turned back to normal, acting as if nothing happened. Jack didn't pry any further.

The remainder of the day was uneventful. There was no further revelation or break in the story. They just took notes on the past events.

When he got home, Dane and Sky had already turned in for the night. He went to lie down and get some shuteye before he had to get up in the morning.

He awoke the next morning to a loud noise.

The radio nearby had turned on by itself. It emitted static that hurt Jack's ears. A voice he remembered started to speak.

"From the moment you were born, you fought against your chains. You kicked. You screamed. You didn't know the language, but you knew they were lying. You knew they were holding you down.

Despite their pretty words, you did not accept the chains. You knew that polished chains are still chains. They still stop you. Stifle you. Control you.

So why are you now accepting the chains?"

He suddenly recalled it all. He remembered Annie, Mr. Linscott, the supposed plague, and Elliot. He remembered his family and he remembered his old town. It was unlike the other times where it felt temporary. This time the revelation was here to stay. He could feel it in his mind.

He'd built up a tolerance, like after a child got measles.

Perhaps it had something to do with being a "Narrative Anchor".

Was this why they were sent to investigate? A strangely large portion of his team seemed suited for this mission. Sky seemed unaffected by the town, perhaps due to being a mirror. There was nothing to mirror here.

But where did Annie go? He remembered that Annie could disappear, but he didn't know where she could have gone. Also, how could her power last this long? Did she just leave them all to rot in this town?

No, she wouldn't do that. They hadn't known each other for long, but he didn't believe she would abandon them. Something must have happened. Something bad.

He rushed out of his room, still high on revelation. He rushed across the hall and pounded on Sky's door.

"I know it now!" he yelled, trying to get their attention. "The town is fake!"

Sky opened their door, their face a mask of happiness.

"You remember?" they asked. "Permanently?"

"I remember everything." Jack replied, turning serious. "Do you have an idea to get us out?"

"No, I haven't found a way to-" they suddenly reached up, grabbing their throat and making a choking noise.

"Are you alright?" Jack was concerned.

"I'm… alright," they said after a second, getting their breath back.

"What happened?" Jack asked.

"I can't speak about… stuff," they said vaguely. Sky looked at him with wide eyes, begging him to understand the subtext.

Jack supposed that was why they didn't escape yet.

"We need to figure out how to break the others out," Jack said, brainstorming. "But how can we do that without alerting whatever is behind this?"

Sky just looked at him, unable to say a word.

"Right, sorry," Jack apologized.

Jack made a few more attempts at circumventing the geas to no avail.

Once they figured out there was no easy way to get around it, Jack told Sky that they needed to use this weekend wisely. He had to keep going to his job because keeping up appearances was vital. This gave them 48 hours to find a way out, or at the very least come up with a viable plan.

They decided to visit Isolde and Elliot today. There had to be a reason those two were chosen to integrate into families. Perhaps it made them easier to control. Or it just gave them a weakness to be exploited should they step out of line.

They went to Elliot's place first.

Jack knocked on the door, three quick raps. A child opened the door, he looked to be about ten with brown hair and a mousy face. Despite everyone believing him to be Elliot's biological sibling, there was no similarities between the two.

"Hello, Jimmy," Jack said politely. "Is Elliot home?"

He knew the kid's name. He still had memories of a life that never was, years of interactions that never happened. It was frightening in many ways, but it was also helpful. It let him blend in and integrate himself into the town to investigate. It seemed strange that Sky lacked those memories. Perhaps they had never been properly integrated into the illusion in the first place.

Their concordant ability of mirroring may have caused the illusion to slip off. It was a unique scenario. If the illusion had been a paradox or another type of concordant event, Sky would almost certainly have fallen under the spell.

"Yes, he's home!" Jimmy said in a chipper tone.

Jack didn't notice how happy everyone was. Even Daniel, who acted mild compared to the rest, seemed unusually cheerful.

They followed Jimmy into the house, looking around. Jack noticed the walls were full of family photos. He could see that some of them had Elliot posing, while others just had a blank space between the rest of the family.

Sky took notice of this as well. They pointed out something else to Jack. Jack followed their finger, finding a wrapped present taking up most of the space in the living room.

"Elliot! You have company!" Jimmy yelled up the stairs. Jack could hear scrambling above them.

"Who's birthday is it?" Jack asked Jimmy.

"Eddies!" Jimmy replied enthusiastically. "He's my best friend in the whole world, so I got him something amazing!"

"Oh!" Jack said, matching his tone. "When is his birthday?"

"Tomorrow," Jimmy said, losing his enthusiasm. Instead, he looked at Jack as if baffled that anybody could forget such an important day.

"It seems we'll need a gift!" Sky said, slipping into character. Jack could see their body language shift, becoming more child-like. "As Eddie's best friend, what should we get?"

"A book!" Jimmy said. "He loves books!"

"I love books too!" Sky replied enthusiastically. "I have a bunch that he'd just love!"

It was impressive to see a master at work. Jack had viewed Sky as a rather reserved person, so it surprised him to see them so animated. Then again, that was just their Concordance at work.

"Hey, guys," Elliot said, coming down the stairs. "It's been a bit!"

"Sorry," Jack replied, a bit unnerved at Elliots enthusiasm. "Been busy at work. You know how it is."

"Do I know it!" Elliot laughed, glancing over at Sky. "Good to see you feeling better. You've been seeming a bit off lately. I was worried I'd have to call the doctor to check on you!"

Sky looked a little nervous, unsure of how to answer.

"Thank you, but I'm fine!" they said. "Just feeling a bit sick is all!"

"Just in time too!" Elliot said joyously. "Mr. Danvers would have been really upset if you tried to miss Eddie's party!"

"And if they were still feeling off tomorrow?" Jack asked, his journalistic senses tingling.

"Well, Eddie wouldn't be very happy!" Elliot replied. "And you know how he get when he's unhappy!"