Dejavu

The ultimate sin, murder. Jonas Black had committed murder. He had killed another human being.

Savagely taking away a person's life was definitely not what Jonas planned for his future when he was younger. No, Jonas wanted to be an firefighter, just like every other little boy. But Jonas had been diagnosed with multiple personalities as a child, and was, therefore, unable to become a firefighter, as he may endanger somebody in the face of fire.

The day Jonas was denied his dream of firefighting was the day that he committed his sin. “I'm sorry, Jonas, but we can't endanger helpless people. I know it's not your fault, but you have this condition, and we have to take into account what might happen if we hire you. So, I'm afraid that it's a no, Jonas. I'm sorry.”

As the words fell out of the chief's mouth, Jonas felt rage building up inside of him. His entire body seemed to twitch and undulate. His cells seemed to scream in protest as his soul transformed into another entity, much like a werewolf. On the outside, he appeared as normal as he could be, but on the inside, raged a beast that wanted desperately to unleash his anger on the nearest human being. The words weighed heavily on his mind and sunk in, causing the monster in his chest to rise up and gain control of Jonas's arms. He lunged forward toward the chief and felt his hands close around his throat. His eyes saw the chief's eyes widen in surprise and start to bug out as the oxygen in his brain was cut off. He felt the weight of the chief grow heavier as he lost the ability to support his weight, and saw his face go from white to red to purple to blue. With all his strength, he leaned forward and seemed to hiss something that sounded like words, but Jonas could not make out. Then, all attempt at breathing stopped. The chief was dead. But that was not enough for Jonas, the beast of his soul raged on, as he squeezed tighter until the chief's head snapped and lolled to the side,A fount of blood spurted from its throat

And the instant it happened, all the rage left Jonas's body. He felt as his hands let go of the chief' and drop down to his sides, and the chief was sent to the floor with a loud “plunk”. Looking at the finger marks so clearly imprinted on the more whole part of the chief's neck, and then his own fingers, stained with blood, he realized the seriousness of what he had done. A warm phlegm gathered in his throat. “He's dead....I've killed him.....” He pronounced this verdict quietly, as if there could be no argument. Those who had not seen what had happened now rose and walked over to the bruised corpse, and the room was full of twitterings, rustlings, murmurs, and sighs.

As it sunk in to the minds of the people surrounding the scene that they had witnessed a murder, police cars began to pull up. Two strong looking men got out of the first car, slammed the doors shut, and strode over to the crime scene. They quickly glanced at the bloodied, bruised corpse and then at Jonas, who was still staring at his outstretched hands in disbelief of what he had done. Registering that Jonas was the killer, they bounded over to him, cuffed his hands and led him to the police vehicle that was waiting outside. Seeing that the criminal had been captured in an easy arrest, the rest of the force flooded out of their vehicles and into the fire hall, where they were to begin examining the corpse, interrogating witnesses, and cleaning up the crime scene.

A day later, Jonas found himself locked in a cell, all to himself. It was cold and damp, but at least the solitude gave him time to think and argue with his many personalities. Speaking to himself, he questioned his actions and his personalities. They had landed him in prison, the last place he had ever wanted to go. Mumbling, he asked a simple question, “Can't we start over?”

It was then, from the corner of the room, came a voice, perhaps only a soft breath, a whisper, “You want to start over, eh? Wanting another chance at life?” Startled, Jonas looked to the corner of the room and saw a creature huddled in a gray blanket with red stains all over it. The creature was an awful sight. It was pale with a black and blue kind of tint, and its head seemed to be crudely sewn onto the neck, like a rag doll. It was sitting, leaning against the wall, looking weak, as if it would not support itself. The overall appearance reminded Jonas of a very sick child.

At a loss for words, Jonas simply nodded. “You can start over, you know. Hard, it would not be, as all you have to do is show remorse.” Jonas wanted another chance more than anything. He had not meant to do what he did. Suddenly finding his voice he cried out, “I'm sorry for what I did! I never meant to hurt anybody! I should have controlled myself better! I am truly sorry and I would give anything for another shot!” The creature opened its mouth, and then it closed its mouth in a death grin. And it was that instant that the room started spinning. Lights surrounded him, an aurora that flickered now orange, now silver, now blue. Wind was whirling around him. He felt his hair fly wildly around his head, and the wind whistled and screeched in his ears.

And then, all of the sudden, the wind died, its scream fell to a murmur. The room stopped spinning. Everything was still, and Jonas was back at the fire hall. Believing that he had somehow escaped from prison, he felt panicked. He looked at his feet as if trying to make them move. But then, hearing his named being called, he looked over, and saw that his name came from the mouth of the chief himself.

“What was going on? What had happened back in that cell in the prison? Where had the creature come from and where had it gone?” These questions were all spinning around in Jonas's head as he stepped forward to look the chief in the face.

“Hi there Jonas, I see you came back this year to try once again to become a firefighter. Still holding onto that childhood dream, eh?” Jonas nodded “Well, Jonas, I'm going to have to tell you the same thing that I had to tell you last time, and the time before that.” Jonas felt a feeling of dejuvu sweep over him. “I'm sorry, Jonas, but we can't endanger helpless people. I know it's not your fault, but you have this condition, and we have to take into account what might happen if we hire you. So, I'm afraid that it's a no, Jonas. I'm sorry.”

The words fell out of the chief's mouth just as easily as the had the first time around, and once again, Jonas felt rage building up inside of him. He screamed, knowing how this would end. He tried to fight this urge to hurt, to kill. But, as he screamed, just as before, his cells screamed as well. His soul, once again, turned black and angry. His arms were lifted in front of him, despite his efforts to fight his inner beast. His eyes teared up as he saw himself begin the same thing that he had regretted doing back in his cell. Closing his fingers around the chiefs throat, choking the life out of him, it was all the same. As the chief used his last strength to lean forward, he hissed something barely audible. But this time, Jonas understood what he said, “You blew your second chance, boy.” And with that, he stopped breathing. Jonas once again, snapped the neck of the now fragile man, and watched as blood poured out onto the floor.

He dropped the corpse and stepped back slowly. Squinting, he saw a resemblance. The chief. The creature in his cell. They were the same. The chief would become the creature. He understood now. Was he, Jonas, supposed to keep redoing his actions until he righted his wrongs? Jonas's mind buzzed in befuddlement as he was one again led to the police vehicle....