One day he was sitting outside. He was talking to the sun. You know, like a rational person. His phone rung. It was Maika. Jake rushed over to his friend’s house. 

“What’s going on?” Inside he was greeted by three of his friends. Janet, Cook, and Troya. Cook was a white chubby 14 year old that Jake had befriended at a convention. They were both into this comic called Skybound.  Cook really identified with the characters even seeing themsevles as said characters. Janet was a transgender makeup artist also into Skybound and Jake had become friends with her through school back when Jake still attended it. She picked the name Janet after Janet Strider a pink alcoholic in the story. Troya was the token of the group. A fit and tall dark skinned athlete. He had delusions from time to time. He was a bit crazy but he was entertaining unlike Jake so everybody humored him. Imagine Troyas symptoms up to 11 without the fun edge and you got Jake facing ableism in his friend group.

“What is this?” Maika sat Jake down. 

“You're fuking crazy” 

“I’m fine!” Jake was shocked. 

“Is...this an intervention?” Jake asked. Cooks looked off to the side. 

“You’ve been talking about magic nonstop and selling your soul non stop for ages now” 

“Yeah…” Jake paused. 

“It’s my special interest” he gestured with his hands. He spoke as though he was simply stating facts. Maika sighed and got up. He turned his back to Jake. 

“You’re incoherent.” Jake laughed. Maika turned back to him with a glare. 

“No I’m not” Janet had a serious look on her face.

 “You went to the theme park with me and wouldn't stop picking up trash!” 

“There were zombies” Jake insisted. Cooks fiddled with their hands. 

“We’re here because we think you need to go to the hospital” Jake laughed. 

“No way” Jake responded. Troya stood up. 

“I’ll drive you” 

“I’m not crazy I’m awake!” Troya paused. 

“No you are”

 “Your one to talk!” Jake snapped.

 “I’m on medication. Something you clearly need to pursue” Troya slammed.

 “C’mon your going” Troya pulled out his keys. 

“I’m not going anywhere~!” Jake stated.

He pulled out his phone and called a lyft. He stormed out of the building. The car came and he went home. He continued for weeks after that reading up on different myths. During this time span he became increasingly paranoid. Maika began to ghost him. Refusing to respond to Jake. No explanation as to why. Jake was torn up about it. Eventually he decided to codify his worries and head to the coffee shop near his house.

As he left Pandora began to instruct him. It became clear to him. There was an infection of zombies in the coffee shop. He had to give them hope. That was what rang true in his mind. So he gathered all of his magical books. He had ordered plenty over time. Including the works of Abremilin the Mage, anything by Crowley, The Necronomicon’s famous hoax book and the grand grimoire. Books of black magic. Yes he thought. He would instruct the coffee goers how to defend themselves. He would also bring wigs and disguises so that they could rebel against the zombies.

A zombie by Jake’s definition was a psychic sort of vampire. A vampire that instead of drinking blood drinks the life force of it’s victim. They would drain the victims energy damaging their soul. They were everywhere and multiplying Jake thought. He was noticing meaning in everything surrounding him. His spirits, his friends had even warned him of a game that involved the zombies. The game for the fate of the world. Truly Jake knew this was just the first stepping stone.

He grabbed his bag and headed to the coffee shop. There he sung along with his radio warning the people in the coffee shop of what was coming. He couldn't use his words. The songs were specific enough to get the message across and discreet enough not to tip off the zombies. He gave the barista a fake name and grabbed his mocha chino. He then paced around the coffee shop singing vaguedies. Instructing the soldiers of the game of the war in his mind.

Finally a song about writing played and he knew what he had to do. He went into the bathroom and hid 3 wigs, 4 books and wrote on the wall “H.O.P.E” this way if anything happened to him or the other victims the warning would be seen. Finally he continued and continued until he was approached by a blonde pale women. She was fit, had glasses and sat down. “Hey I think you need to go...I’m the owner and I’m gonna call you a lyft.” She had a stern talk with him. She said she had done work with the mentally ill which is why she let him roam around as long as he did but that he couldn't do that in her establishment. She called the car and Jake returned home. No consequences.

“She must’ve been a zombie” he thought to himself. Or she wasn’t in on it and thus he looked crazy to her as an outsider. “She must’ve not known” he rationalized. He sighed and spent the night reading his keys of demonic magic. He had collected several books on stereotypical black magic.. His favorite magician of them being Solomon whom’s methods he thought were atroches but effective. 

He spent several nights until he woke up to Maika frantically messaging him. 

“Dude what’s going on?”

 “I’m just making sure your not dead” 

“dead...why would I be dead?” 

“I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for weeks”

 “Oh I just haven’t logged onto skype” Jake typed. 

“The zombies can pick up on the air waves” 

“UGH! Enough with the stupid zombies” the mesages were rapid fire paced between the two men. 

It’s not stupid” 

“Yes it fuking is” Maika retorted. 

“You’re straight up delusional”

 “I am NOT delusional!” Jake typed.

 “Yes….you are” “

“What makes me crazy?”

 “everything you’ve been doing is just about insane these days” 

“no” 

“yes” 

“no” 

“yes” 

“I’m slightly off the rocker but I’m still perfectly sane” 

“Ugh your impossible. Glad to see your not dead. BYE'' Jake closed his laptop. Maika had been such a pain lately. Trying to convince Jake that he had lost it. The next morning he awoke to two policemen at his door. “I’m looking for a Mr.Calloway?” Jake looked at them holding his simbah broadway doll. 

“Yes?” 

“Your mother called us. You need to go to the hospital”

 “I don’t think-” the officer forcibly grabbed him and bruised his arms.

Next thing Jake knew he was at Ridgeview. He entered in. The first thing they did was pop him some calanipin. Jake was dazed. He sauntered around the hospital. Meeting his fellow rebels. At least in his mind. 

“Nice to meet you Jake. I’m Osirus” a chubby white man with a beard said. 

“I’m Jake!” Jake replied. 

“Well I mean technically my names Anthony. What are you in for?” Jake held his chest. “Delusions of grandeur and schizophrenia apparently” 

“oh just like me in the past” Anthony laughed. 

“You're really incoherent but don’t worry I can understand you. I’ve been there myself. Us egyptians got to stick together” he winked at Jake.

 “Oh here I have something for you” Jake pulled out a feather based hero battle card. He had gotten into hero battle the more he went insane. I’ve mostly omitted it from our story do to relevance it’s a very french game, but it is something he went through. Jake believed each card to hold a soul and whisper to him. And he played it throughout this whole ordeal.

 “It told me to give it to the real Osiris” he handed Anthony the card. Anthony held it and Jake asked for it back. 

“See these cards are my friends they protect me”

 “Hero Battle?” Anthony raised a brow. 

“Yep!” 

“Wana eat lunch with me?” 

“sure!” that night Jake became friends with several in the hospital. Most there for drug addiction. Jake was out of place.

“Hi I’m Eliza!” a blonde haired boy said. “I want to fuck gods” he smiled. He reminded Jake of his cousin Aubrey. “Why are you telling me this?” Jake asked.

 “Cus all you do is talk about religion. I really want to fuck Aphrodiety” he smiled. That night jake had a dream. In his imagination was the boy from Eliza “I know I have some connection to Helios but that’s it i'm pretty sure I’m-” and then Jake woke up. He also made friends with a vegan gay couple that he ate lunch with in the hospital. Anthony translated for him.

“Hi nice to meet you my names Case” 

“Case!?” Jake near screamed. 

“Uh yeah!?” the black haired boy blushed. 

“Is Emma Caloway really your sister?”

 “yeah.” Jake said, 

“But all that stuff about her isn't true” 

“so she didn’t get pregnant”

 “nope! We just moved cus of bullying”

 “wow” he said. Jake took a second to think. “what are you in for?”

 “oh um drug addiction” Case said. Case sighed. 

“You know all these guys talk bad about you behind your back right? Even Anthony”

 “I know” Jake replied. “I know exactly even it’s just” He looked off to the side. 

“As long as they’re nice to my face….” he smiled. “Like you” Case laughed. 

“You should join my class im teaching magic out here on smoke breaks” 

“really? Like harry potter shit?” Case asked. 

“Yeah but the real versions” Jake replied

 “no thanks dude I'm good” Case said quickly in response with red flags going off.

Eventually Jake’s time at the hospital ended. He was set free and let go. He made friends while there but eventually his mind was cured, and he was set to go home. Jake had a run in with schizo-effective disorder. His new diagnosis. As we can see as readers he was clearly driven there by the magic at play. Selling your soul needs proper precautions, whether that be a normal pact, shitty youtube videos, or a fast food joint. However you need to do it, you need to project yourself and that was something Jake Caloway never sought to do. Because he chose not to do this, his mind suffered and he lost his friends. But we’ll get to that.