Jondy the Abandoner
I've actually sort of had a bug up my butt to do this for a long time, but I didn't because I'm aware that it makes me the lamest person in the history of the planet. OH WELL! In high school I was writing this fan fiction called "Jondy the Abandoner", and I was super proud of it because it was the best thing I'd ever written and people gave me like twelve reviews for it and omg exciting. High school me was often as dumb as rocks. *Looks back at her and is exasperated* Still, I love the original character I created in this world, and I've always intended to take her out, de-Manticore-ize her, and use her in an original fiction.
I so haven't done that yet. But how can I when her original material sucks so hard and get this, I didn't even finish it. Yeah. Because I was one of those writers. Fuck me, I deserve it. I seriously cannot go about finishing this fic now, because my writing differs like... a lot. I mean, I still suck at everything, but not nearly so painfully.
Well then today I read like, a gajillion-thousand death fics (actually it was more like four or five, but whatevs), and those of you who know about this original character (cute, little Aldrea) can probably see where this is going...
Yeah. She started pelting me with several ideas about how I should kill her off. Part of me wants to never kill her, just to spite her. We'll see, BECAUSE I'VE NEVER ACTUALLY FINISHED HER STORY!
So I am going to finish Jondy the Abandoner, but I've got to revamp it first. Here is the first part in the five part series:
Title: Jondy the Abandoner (2009 Director's Cut)
Fandom: Dark Angel
Rating/Warnings: PG-13
Characters: Jondy and her infant, mentions of Zack, Max, Syl, Krit and Tinga
Word Count: 1,340
Disclaimer: I disclaim it!
Summary: Five years after the escape Jondy stands in a lonely park with a decision to make and only her personal demons to guide her.
March 1, 2014
Five years ago tonight they escaped from Manticore, but somehow it seems like much longer. So much has changed since they ran.
She’s standing in an old park in some small town that she can’t even remember the name of. There’s not much snow; just enough to cover the grass, but it’s cold. So cold that even she shivers.
Rusted swings creak behind her in the wind, and she clutches the small life, the life that was just an accident, closer to her chest. She has to get rid of it before Zack finds out. He’ll be visiting soon, all brash warnings and “I’m your CO, Jondy.”
He comes to see her every six months. Six months ago the small life was barely showing; pouting out her abdomen just slightly. She wore a baggy sweatshirt and Zack didn’t notice, even though he had to be looking for it. Six months ago is when she found out why it had happened, because Zack told her that it had happened to Syl too. Of course, it was three months too late, so she lied to Zack. She told him she’d been able to control her first heat cycle.
In reality she’d jumped the first guy she came into contact with and they fucked each other’s brains out.
The result stirred in her arms. Not even an hour old it was wrapped in her warmest sweatshirt. Originally the plan had been to kill the infant.
Then it came out with beautiful eyes. Big brown eyes, despite being a newborn, and they looked right up at her. She left it on the bathmat in her motel bathroom and sat on the bed, her gut clenching.
She wrapped it up in that warm shirt and came here. The small life was quiet. It had barely whimpered in those first forty minutes of life, despite how it was left cold and naked on a mildewy bathmat. She was going to leave the small mistake on a lonely bench that sat several yards apart from the old play equipment. Someone would find it, she reassured herself. Even though it doesn’t have a barcode, it’s part transgenic and can survive though the night.
Her feet disrupt the light dusting of snow as she strides over to the bench. Her hair whips wildly in the wind, stinging as it hits her face.
She set the baby, because yes it’s a baby on the bench, and realizes the wood is partially rotted through. The baby can’t be more than six pounds, she thinks. It’ll be fine. Her baby is small because she is small. She had never seen a person so small. It had surprised her nearly as much as the baby’s eyes.
She opened those warm brown eyes then, and Jondy’s gut twisted into that same knot. They reminded her of Maxie’s eyes. Five years ago tonight was the last time she had seen eyes like that.
She stood up, distancing herself from… from the baby, and the sweatshirt-wrapped-form finally began to cry. She cried light sobs so soft Jondy wouldn’t have heard them over the wind if she hadn’t been Manticore-made.
It was much colder than she had realized. Without the body heat from the baby clutched to her she felt cold and vulnerable.
She turned away from the baby’s small, tear-stained face, her jaw clenching. She had to do this.
The bench was facing a pond covered over by a thin layer of ice. Just thick enough that a young child could wander out to the middle of it before falling though, disappearing into frozen murk. There was no warning sign though. Such luxuries couldn’t be publicly funded post-Pulse.
Too bad, Jondy realized as she saw the tiny footprints that meandered across the ice, leading to a jagged hole in the center. She stared at it.
The ice cracked and in a horrifying instant, Max slipped under.
Someone had fallen though here, she thought. A small child, maybe five years old, judging from the footprints.
”Max!” Jondy screamed. Helicopters droned overhead and snowmobiles were speeding closer. Searchlights beamed across the snow, growing nearer with every pass. She couldn’t wait any longer, or neither of them would make it.
She ran.
Jondy had abandoned Max. She wondered if anyone had been with the child at this pond. If anyone had stayed with him, or if his friends had gotten scared and run away.
Jondy ran through the woods, bullets nipping at her feet. One nicked her thigh.
Max forgotten for the moment, she thought only of escaping-a singular focus that would increase her chance at success. She knew the local topography well, and as she came to a seven-foot drop she ran off the edge without pausing.
She landed easily, and rolled into a small cave. She knew it was there, but you couldn’t see it unless you were looking for it, and even then it could be difficult to find.
Krit and Tinga had already claimed this spot, but they greeted her warmly. I’ve made it; I’m alive, Jondy thought, not quite believing it. She didn’t even think to wonder if Maxie had made it as well. Her brother and sister huddled close to her for warmth.
But Maxie was cold.
A tear found its way from her eye at the memory, freezing a trail down her cheek. She had been selfish that night. She had never stopped thinking about it.
Jondy was eleven and had run away. She was sick of her foster family, so she changed her name to Aldrea and ran away. Zack thought it was a stupid name; that it drew too much attention.
“Where is Max these days?” she asked. Secretly she hoped to find her and maybe they could live together. They could stay up talking all night like old times.
Zack didn’t say anything, and she knew. She asked anyway. “Did she make it out?”
Zack still didn’t say anything. “Did she… Did she drown?” She didn’t want to hear the answer.
She didn’t have to. Zack just nodded and refused to make eye contact with her.
She had abandoned Maxie and left her in that freezing pond to die. Even X5s can’t hold their breath forever. By the time she was embracing her siblings in that cave, Maxie’s lungs were protesting. Her heart was pounding, gaping for fresh oxygen that would never come. Then it quit, and Max had sunk to the bottom of that pond, eyes open and glassy.
Maxie. She had been Jondy’s Maxie. She had always been the one to help Max. She was supposed to be protecting her that night, because she might have more seizures while they were running away. She’d done a terrible thing.
She was Jondy the abandoner, and here she was doing it again. Only this time she was Rachel the abandoner, because Jondy even abandoned her names. Rachel had been her alias for about a year, and when Zack showed up he’d make her change it again. She’d been Rachel for too long.
She closed her eyes, willing back tears that would freeze. The wind came up again and took her long hair for a ride once more. What would Zack say if she told him she’d had a baby? A baby. He’d be angry. He’d know she’d lied. Her eyes were so pretty…
She walked away.
As she passed the rickety slide, cold sleet began to fall. The baby began to wail. She turned to face those shrill screams and there was that pond again its jagged hole gaping at her.
The baby let out a horrifying screech.
Nine-year-old Maxie slipped under the surface of the pond, never to be seen again.
She ran back to the baby, and the little girl stopped crying and looked up at her. She was Jondy’s baby. Jondy gulped. She would take care of her, and she would make Jondy smile with those beautiful eyes.
Eyes like Maxie’s.
Who cares was Zack says? It’s better late than never.
THE END.
I so haven't done that yet. But how can I when her original material sucks so hard and get this, I didn't even finish it. Yeah. Because I was one of those writers. Fuck me, I deserve it. I seriously cannot go about finishing this fic now, because my writing differs like... a lot. I mean, I still suck at everything, but not nearly so painfully.
Well then today I read like, a gajillion-thousand death fics (actually it was more like four or five, but whatevs), and those of you who know about this original character (cute, little Aldrea) can probably see where this is going...
Yeah. She started pelting me with several ideas about how I should kill her off. Part of me wants to never kill her, just to spite her. We'll see, BECAUSE I'VE NEVER ACTUALLY FINISHED HER STORY!
So I am going to finish Jondy the Abandoner, but I've got to revamp it first. Here is the first part in the five part series:
Title: Jondy the Abandoner (2009 Director's Cut)
Fandom: Dark Angel
Rating/Warnings: PG-13
Characters: Jondy and her infant, mentions of Zack, Max, Syl, Krit and Tinga
Word Count: 1,340
Disclaimer: I disclaim it!
Summary: Five years after the escape Jondy stands in a lonely park with a decision to make and only her personal demons to guide her.
March 1, 2014
Five years ago tonight they escaped from Manticore, but somehow it seems like much longer. So much has changed since they ran.
She’s standing in an old park in some small town that she can’t even remember the name of. There’s not much snow; just enough to cover the grass, but it’s cold. So cold that even she shivers.
Rusted swings creak behind her in the wind, and she clutches the small life, the life that was just an accident, closer to her chest. She has to get rid of it before Zack finds out. He’ll be visiting soon, all brash warnings and “I’m your CO, Jondy.”
He comes to see her every six months. Six months ago the small life was barely showing; pouting out her abdomen just slightly. She wore a baggy sweatshirt and Zack didn’t notice, even though he had to be looking for it. Six months ago is when she found out why it had happened, because Zack told her that it had happened to Syl too. Of course, it was three months too late, so she lied to Zack. She told him she’d been able to control her first heat cycle.
In reality she’d jumped the first guy she came into contact with and they fucked each other’s brains out.
The result stirred in her arms. Not even an hour old it was wrapped in her warmest sweatshirt. Originally the plan had been to kill the infant.
Then it came out with beautiful eyes. Big brown eyes, despite being a newborn, and they looked right up at her. She left it on the bathmat in her motel bathroom and sat on the bed, her gut clenching.
She wrapped it up in that warm shirt and came here. The small life was quiet. It had barely whimpered in those first forty minutes of life, despite how it was left cold and naked on a mildewy bathmat. She was going to leave the small mistake on a lonely bench that sat several yards apart from the old play equipment. Someone would find it, she reassured herself. Even though it doesn’t have a barcode, it’s part transgenic and can survive though the night.
Her feet disrupt the light dusting of snow as she strides over to the bench. Her hair whips wildly in the wind, stinging as it hits her face.
She set the baby, because yes it’s a baby on the bench, and realizes the wood is partially rotted through. The baby can’t be more than six pounds, she thinks. It’ll be fine. Her baby is small because she is small. She had never seen a person so small. It had surprised her nearly as much as the baby’s eyes.
She opened those warm brown eyes then, and Jondy’s gut twisted into that same knot. They reminded her of Maxie’s eyes. Five years ago tonight was the last time she had seen eyes like that.
She stood up, distancing herself from… from the baby, and the sweatshirt-wrapped-form finally began to cry. She cried light sobs so soft Jondy wouldn’t have heard them over the wind if she hadn’t been Manticore-made.
It was much colder than she had realized. Without the body heat from the baby clutched to her she felt cold and vulnerable.
She turned away from the baby’s small, tear-stained face, her jaw clenching. She had to do this.
The bench was facing a pond covered over by a thin layer of ice. Just thick enough that a young child could wander out to the middle of it before falling though, disappearing into frozen murk. There was no warning sign though. Such luxuries couldn’t be publicly funded post-Pulse.
Too bad, Jondy realized as she saw the tiny footprints that meandered across the ice, leading to a jagged hole in the center. She stared at it.
The ice cracked and in a horrifying instant, Max slipped under.
Someone had fallen though here, she thought. A small child, maybe five years old, judging from the footprints.
”Max!” Jondy screamed. Helicopters droned overhead and snowmobiles were speeding closer. Searchlights beamed across the snow, growing nearer with every pass. She couldn’t wait any longer, or neither of them would make it.
She ran.
Jondy had abandoned Max. She wondered if anyone had been with the child at this pond. If anyone had stayed with him, or if his friends had gotten scared and run away.
Jondy ran through the woods, bullets nipping at her feet. One nicked her thigh.
Max forgotten for the moment, she thought only of escaping-a singular focus that would increase her chance at success. She knew the local topography well, and as she came to a seven-foot drop she ran off the edge without pausing.
She landed easily, and rolled into a small cave. She knew it was there, but you couldn’t see it unless you were looking for it, and even then it could be difficult to find.
Krit and Tinga had already claimed this spot, but they greeted her warmly. I’ve made it; I’m alive, Jondy thought, not quite believing it. She didn’t even think to wonder if Maxie had made it as well. Her brother and sister huddled close to her for warmth.
But Maxie was cold.
A tear found its way from her eye at the memory, freezing a trail down her cheek. She had been selfish that night. She had never stopped thinking about it.
Jondy was eleven and had run away. She was sick of her foster family, so she changed her name to Aldrea and ran away. Zack thought it was a stupid name; that it drew too much attention.
“Where is Max these days?” she asked. Secretly she hoped to find her and maybe they could live together. They could stay up talking all night like old times.
Zack didn’t say anything, and she knew. She asked anyway. “Did she make it out?”
Zack still didn’t say anything. “Did she… Did she drown?” She didn’t want to hear the answer.
She didn’t have to. Zack just nodded and refused to make eye contact with her.
She had abandoned Maxie and left her in that freezing pond to die. Even X5s can’t hold their breath forever. By the time she was embracing her siblings in that cave, Maxie’s lungs were protesting. Her heart was pounding, gaping for fresh oxygen that would never come. Then it quit, and Max had sunk to the bottom of that pond, eyes open and glassy.
Maxie. She had been Jondy’s Maxie. She had always been the one to help Max. She was supposed to be protecting her that night, because she might have more seizures while they were running away. She’d done a terrible thing.
She was Jondy the abandoner, and here she was doing it again. Only this time she was Rachel the abandoner, because Jondy even abandoned her names. Rachel had been her alias for about a year, and when Zack showed up he’d make her change it again. She’d been Rachel for too long.
She closed her eyes, willing back tears that would freeze. The wind came up again and took her long hair for a ride once more. What would Zack say if she told him she’d had a baby? A baby. He’d be angry. He’d know she’d lied. Her eyes were so pretty…
She walked away.
As she passed the rickety slide, cold sleet began to fall. The baby began to wail. She turned to face those shrill screams and there was that pond again its jagged hole gaping at her.
The baby let out a horrifying screech.
Nine-year-old Maxie slipped under the surface of the pond, never to be seen again.
She ran back to the baby, and the little girl stopped crying and looked up at her. She was Jondy’s baby. Jondy gulped. She would take care of her, and she would make Jondy smile with those beautiful eyes.
Eyes like Maxie’s.
Who cares was Zack says? It’s better late than never.
THE END.