Categories > Celebrities > 30 Seconds to Mars > These Immortal Streets
Chapter Twenty Three
The words came as no surprise as he stood there waiting for someone to feel free to explain everything. He had expected to have been fooled. Hadn’t that been the feeling he had gotten when she had showed him those old clippings? When she had first told him of Shannon’s immortality? But he had bypassed it, let it fly on by without thought. So here he was, the fool again, lost in the hands of an unknown plan.
“Cat got your tongue Scarlett?” Shannon asked. his deep voice a shock in the surrounding quiet.
She hesitated to speak, her hand touching to her chest almost breathlessly. She avoided looking at Jared but she could feel those blue eyes on her and she nearly fell apart beneath their weight and accusation.
“Don’t be quiet on account of Jared, baby. He wants to know what the hell’s going on. Hell I want to know!” Shannon exclaimed it with his arms going up in a loud gesture.
“Don’t act innocent.” She sneered, finally for once seeming to be unafraid of Shannon. Her brows had furrowed and there was a hatred that filled her eyes.
“Just tell me if I’m going to walk out of here alive or not” He knew he sounded exasperated, knew that his lack of shock over the situation only intensified his weakness.
Shannon let out a breath of a laugh and leaned back against the wall. He folded his arms across his chest and looked amused as his eyes went between Scarlett and Jared.
“Alive?” A wide smile appeared on his face and again Jared had thoughts of punching it off. “Are you even really alive? Isn’t it time you die?”
“Didn’t know I had an expiration date.”
“Everyone has one.” Scarlett said sharply. She shot her gaze to Jared for the first time, shocking him with the dampened color.
“Except the immortals baby, remember that. And Jared here isn’t immortal. Not anymore.”
“But you are.” Jared made a gesture to Shannon and then looked to Scarlett. “When’s your expiration?”
“I died a long time ago.” She whispered, turning her attention from him and down to the splinters in the wood floor.
Shannon pushed off the wall and went to Scarlett, his arm easily enclosing her against his chest. “Scarlett used to have a baby…She died about 3 months ago…SIDS, they told her.”
“Innocence should be immortal.” Scarlett’s voice was barely there against the material of Shannon’s shirt.
“And you want her back?” Instantly he saw Miranda again, felt the fever on her skin as if she were here again. He resisted the urge to fall back into it, resisted the urge to think back again.
Scarlett sniffed before turning to Jared again. “You can help me with that…”
“A life for a life…” Jared whispered, the fragments of what was happening coming to him suddenly.
“I like how you catch on, Jared. It’s brilliant.” Shannon smiled like he had just paid the greatest compliment.
“You’re mortal now…you’ve lived your life, why can’t you give her yours?” Scarlett demanded, an anger rising up in her voice.
“Why don’t you give her yours?” Jared asked of her despite the feeling of absolute compassion building inside of him towards her. He knew what it was like to lose a child.
“She needs her mother….”
“How am I no longer immortal? What…changed me?” He wanted to say cured, wanted to ask how they rid him of his curse but as he stood there now feeling vulnerable to whatever they had planned he couldn’t see it as something like a miracle.
“The cure…it’s in Scarlett’s blood.”
The words came as no surprise as he stood there waiting for someone to feel free to explain everything. He had expected to have been fooled. Hadn’t that been the feeling he had gotten when she had showed him those old clippings? When she had first told him of Shannon’s immortality? But he had bypassed it, let it fly on by without thought. So here he was, the fool again, lost in the hands of an unknown plan.
“Cat got your tongue Scarlett?” Shannon asked. his deep voice a shock in the surrounding quiet.
She hesitated to speak, her hand touching to her chest almost breathlessly. She avoided looking at Jared but she could feel those blue eyes on her and she nearly fell apart beneath their weight and accusation.
“Don’t be quiet on account of Jared, baby. He wants to know what the hell’s going on. Hell I want to know!” Shannon exclaimed it with his arms going up in a loud gesture.
“Don’t act innocent.” She sneered, finally for once seeming to be unafraid of Shannon. Her brows had furrowed and there was a hatred that filled her eyes.
“Just tell me if I’m going to walk out of here alive or not” He knew he sounded exasperated, knew that his lack of shock over the situation only intensified his weakness.
Shannon let out a breath of a laugh and leaned back against the wall. He folded his arms across his chest and looked amused as his eyes went between Scarlett and Jared.
“Alive?” A wide smile appeared on his face and again Jared had thoughts of punching it off. “Are you even really alive? Isn’t it time you die?”
“Didn’t know I had an expiration date.”
“Everyone has one.” Scarlett said sharply. She shot her gaze to Jared for the first time, shocking him with the dampened color.
“Except the immortals baby, remember that. And Jared here isn’t immortal. Not anymore.”
“But you are.” Jared made a gesture to Shannon and then looked to Scarlett. “When’s your expiration?”
“I died a long time ago.” She whispered, turning her attention from him and down to the splinters in the wood floor.
Shannon pushed off the wall and went to Scarlett, his arm easily enclosing her against his chest. “Scarlett used to have a baby…She died about 3 months ago…SIDS, they told her.”
“Innocence should be immortal.” Scarlett’s voice was barely there against the material of Shannon’s shirt.
“And you want her back?” Instantly he saw Miranda again, felt the fever on her skin as if she were here again. He resisted the urge to fall back into it, resisted the urge to think back again.
Scarlett sniffed before turning to Jared again. “You can help me with that…”
“A life for a life…” Jared whispered, the fragments of what was happening coming to him suddenly.
“I like how you catch on, Jared. It’s brilliant.” Shannon smiled like he had just paid the greatest compliment.
“You’re mortal now…you’ve lived your life, why can’t you give her yours?” Scarlett demanded, an anger rising up in her voice.
“Why don’t you give her yours?” Jared asked of her despite the feeling of absolute compassion building inside of him towards her. He knew what it was like to lose a child.
“She needs her mother….”
“How am I no longer immortal? What…changed me?” He wanted to say cured, wanted to ask how they rid him of his curse but as he stood there now feeling vulnerable to whatever they had planned he couldn’t see it as something like a miracle.
“The cure…it’s in Scarlett’s blood.”
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