fandomhighdorms | School hallways: Friday morning, before fourth period

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School hallways: Friday morning, before fourth period

Jack had slept in, which surprised him, because he hadn't expected to fall asleep at all. Having Sam and Cedric inside him ~~NOT DIRTY!~~ had kept him warm, must have been enough to lull him to sleep.

They'd been reluctant to let him go to class, and if it had been anyone's but the Doctor's he wouldn't have bothered. But it was, and he didn't want to miss it.

So now he was walking to Survival Tactics. Slowly, because sleep or not, he was cold, exhausted and trying not to walk through things. And occasionally getting distracted by the fact that he could see the floor through his feet.

[ooc: Jack's here for a couple of people, and a shadow, but open!]

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There was a chill in the hall, and a formless shape began to coalesce among the shadows.

Jack was staring at his feet, but he felt the drop in temperature. His head shot up and he stopped dead, peering suspiciously around him.

The air swirled, and the shadows rushed forward. Taking a vaguely human shape, they passed through Jack, lingering, with much more strength than they had the day before.

It sent him staggering backwards, gasping and swearing, eyes wide. It looked almost human. He tried to whirl, to follow the shadow's movement, but the attack had left him even weaker than before.

The shadows made another pass, this time moving more slowly, savoring Jack's flickering energy and warmth. The tiniest sound, like leaves or paper rustling, might be heard.

His skin crawled as it passed through him and he started to shake with cold, flinching from a sound he wasn't sure he even heard. This time, he stayed on his feet - he was afraid of what would happen if he didn't - and started moving backwards down the hall.

The shadows clung even as he tried to move away.

Panic took over and he flailed at himself, trying to scrape them off. "Get the frak off me!"

Shadows cannot chuckle, but Jack might detect something chuckling in their manner. Leisurely, they stole a few final scraps of energy before peeling away from him and retreating.

Breathing heavy, he watched it go.

When he was certain it was gone, he closed his eyes and bent forward, pressing his forehead against his legs until he stopped shaking.

Several minutes later, he opened his eyes and saw the hallway behind him, perfectly clear. "Not good," he muttered, colder than he could ever remember being. "This is not good."

Rose was in school to pick-up some things she left behind, she hadn't been to her office in a while. A quick nip in would fix that.

"Rose." Jack, now completely transparent, tried to get her attention, waving his arms, hoping she'd see the movement.

She looked up hearing her name and gaped. "Jack?" She approached him and stopped a few meters from him. "What are you--" She reached out to touch him but her hand completely went through. "What happened to you?!"

"There's things, shadows." Waving his arms had exhausted him and he slumped forward, trying not to think about how cold he was. "Be careful, they look kinda human now. They attack, and leave you like this."

"What shadows?" Rose asked, she held up her hand again and tried to hold him, somehow. She looked around for the shadows, features hardening with panic, fear and a building anger that this was happening. Again.

He tried to touch her hand, but he couldn't focus and it just went through hers. "I don't know. I thought it was just Fandom weirdness, like getting turned into a beast, but this is different."

"This is you getting hurt." Rose said, angry and alarmed as her hands went through again. "We should get you help, the Doctor, anything."

"It's okay, Rose." He made an effort and dredged a smile up from somewhere. "I'm not hurt," just cold, just weak, "and it'll get sorted out." He didn't know why she was so upset about him being in danger, but he could tell she was. "But you could walk me to the Doctor's class. That'd be a big help."

Not hurt her arse, he was clearly hurt but she knew that look on his face. He's gonna stand his ground until he'll turn blue -- or in this case -- completely incorporeal. But he was going to the Doctor's class so that's even better.

"I'll do more than walk you to class," Rose said, with an equally stubborn set on her jaw. "I'll be there until the class is done."

"You don't have to," he told her, but he moved closer to her, standing as close as he could get, feeling incredible gratitude. He should go back to Sam, but he'd said he was going to class, and he'd be damned if he'd let some smug asshole shadow stop him. "But thank you."

"Anytime." Rose said meaning it, murder in her eyes for anything looking remotely shadow like. Nothing and no one was going to kill Jack, not on her watch. Never again.

Evie was heading to the library to check out the newest pulp mystery novel. She slowed down when she saw Jack sitting on the ground. "Jack?" He didn't look-- oh, lord, she could see through his hand. "Jack!"

Jack looked up slowly. He'd just needed to sit down, just for a minute, and he'd been staring at the floor through himself, "Hey, Evie," he said weakly. He was so cold he'd stopped shivering, like his body had given up trying to keep itself warm.

"What's happened to you? Should I fetch a doctor?" Evie swallowed, knowing immediately that that was a stupid thing to say. "Or someone? I don't know, how do I help?"

"No, no. It's okay, Evie. Really." He was lying through his teeth, but he didn't want to go to the clinic. This was just Fandom weirdness, somewhere between Jello dragons and mummies. It would pass. "Be careful, watch out for shadows. Some of them are," alive was the wrong word, though that last one had looked vaguely human, and he certain he'd heard it laugh, "attacking people."

"Well then, we need light! Lots of light! Except..." She bit her lip, becoming even more upset. "If they're not normal shadows, that won't work, will it?"

"I don't think so." She looked so distressed, but he just didn't have the energy to try and reassure her. "There was one here, just before. And the hallway's not exactly dark," he said, putting his head down on his knees. At least he was solid to himself.

Evie wrung her hands together, and bit her lip. "I'll bring a lamp! Yes, that will work. And, oh, a teacher, I think--"

"No! Evie--" Jack hauled himself to his feet, groaning at the effort, and stepped towards her. "I'm on my way to class. The teacher's a doctor." Tiny lie, but it would help both of them. "There is something you could do, though. If you're willing." And he felt uncomfortably like he was about to hit on her, which - strange as the realisation was - he wouldn't do to Evie.

"Of course! Anything! Just tell me what to do." Evie flailed a bit, and asked, "You're not in pain, are you? Because you look so un-well..."

"Aww, Evie. I'm hurt. You don't think I'm my usual gorgeous self?" he teased. "I'm freezing, can't really get warm." He moved closer, close enough to touch if he'd had anything he could touch with. "If I could walk through you, share your body heat? It'd help."

"How very odd." Evie blinked at him, trying to focus on his face and not the wall behind him. "This will help? You'll feel better? Then certainly." Plus, it would definitely be an interesting experience. She'd have to writ it up in her science journal.

"It will. I promise." Jack actually hesitated, then stepped forward, into Evie, and paused, drawing in a sharp breath. He was so cold, and she was so hot, and the contrast hurt. Gradually, it passed, her warmth flowed through him, and he relaxed. This wasn't so much 'walking through' as it was 'standing in', but he couldn't make himself move.

It was *very* strange. The chill was tangible, but less along her skin than inside of her. She lifted a hand, but since Jack didn't lift his, it still looked solid, and normal. Looking down, she could see the faint outlines of him around and through her own body. "Is it helping?" she asked hopefully. "Should I just stand here for now?"

Evie's words knocked him out of the half-trance he'd been in and he forced himself to step back. As soon as he was free of her, the cold started to creep back, but the biting intensity had faded. "It helped, Evie. It helped a lot. Thank you."

"You're welcome! I can stand here for quite a while longer, really I can." She looked uncertainly over at the ghostly, see-through presence standing next to her. "What should I do? Just tell me."

"I don't know. Maybe try and figure out what's going on?" he suggested, smiling down at her. He had the strong feeling that he could ask her to do just about anything and she'd do it; it wasn't exactly a comfortable feeling. "I'm going to head to class."

"I don't have classes! And I'm good at research!" she told Jack hopefully. "I'm going there right now, and you'll be right as rain soon, Jack. You'll see."

"With you working on it? No question." He wanted to touch her, or kiss her cheek, or something, but he couldn't. It was frustrating as hell. "And it's me, of course I'll be fine."

Evie put one hand inside his ghostly one, hoping he could feel it. "You hang on. It will be all right, I promise." She let go reluctantly, then turned to march off in determination. "Or I don't know my books!" she called back to him.

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School hallways: Friday morning, before fourth period

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