Disclaimer: Not matter how much I love Digimon and Aerosmith, I own neither.
~Dum, dum, dum, honey what have you done?
Dum, dum, dum, it's the sound of my gun
Dum, dum, dum, honey what have you done?
Dum, dum, dum, it's the sound.~
Sixteen-year-old Jeri looked down at her sock puppet in her old toy box and sighed. She was wearing a black shirt and black jeans. She wore black a lot. Her mind wondered back to the day her mom gave it to her. It was her only memento of her mother. She hated the fact that her mother was dead, even if she did love her stepmother. Maybe her father wouldn't have become so different. It didn't make any sense. Did her father stop loving her or something? She tried to be a good girl. She really did. Maybe she was a little weird but what little who had lost her mother wouldn't be? It wasn't only that. Leomon left her too. She was a horrible tamer. Did she cause both of their deaths? Was there something she did wrong? Could there have been something different she should've done to prevent them from dying? Anything, anything at all?
'No sense in thinking about it, Jeri,' she thought to herself. 'Mom isn't coming back. Leomon's not coming back either. Just face it. You are a horrible daughter and a tamer. No one loves you or wants you. You're just meant to be alone.'
"Alone." She said aloud. She picked up her sock puppet and put it on her right arm. "I'm supposed to be alone, right?"
"Don't be so sad," Jeri made her puppet speak, "it's not your fault that no one will stay around."
"At least I still have you."
"That's right."
Jeri put the sock puppet away then walked around her house. It was quite empty with her father at work. He was there a lot, even if their family did own the restaurant. Something quite odd was happening to him. He came home angry many nights and would yell at anyone that happened to be the first person he saw. The man was becoming a drunk. That was for certain.
~Jeri's got a gun
Jeri's got a gun
Her whole world's come undone
From lookin' straight at the sun
What did her daddy do?
What did he put you though?
They said when Jeri was arrested they
Found him underneath a train.
But, man, he had it comin'
Now that' Jeri's got a gun she ain't never
Gonna be the same~
Jeri shivered. She was scared of her father now. Her stepmother and half brother had to have noticed he's different. What's his problem? Jeri had to do something before his father goes crazy. Or maybe it was just Jeri going crazy.
"Jeri," her stepmother said walking out of her bedroom. "I'm taking your brother shopping for new clothes." She said. "Would you like to come? We can get you something else too."
{Author's note: Jeri's stepmother said Jeri's half brother's name, but I didn't catch it. Did anyone catch it? I think it was Hiroshima, or something.}
Jeri thought hard for a moment. Tag a long with her stepmother and half brother shopping. She'll watch her brother fuss over the clothes he was trying on and run around bargain hunting. Maybe when she was younger that'd be something she'd be in the mood for. But now Jeri didn't want to be with anyone right now. Sure, just a little while ago she was wondering why she had to be alone and now that she had a chance to have some company, she'd rather be alone. She didn't want to be seen by anybody. Jeri was getting used to her solitude.
"No," Jeri said. "I'll stay home."
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"I'm sure."
"Okay. We'll see you when we get back."
"Yeah," Jeri sat down on the couch and turned on the TV.
They left the house and Jeri was alone, again. The program she was watching wasn't very interesting so she turned it off and decided to go back to her room. She passed the laundry room and the dryer had just turned off. Jeri thought she had nothing better to do and maybe sorting the laundry and putting it away for her family would be nice. Her father would probably expect everything to be done when he came home anyway. He'd be mad if it wasn't. Sighing, she entered the laundry room and pulled the clothes out of the dryer, folded them and put them in a laundry basket. Some of the clothes were her father's and so she took them to her parent's room first. She opened a drawer and as she was putting some shirts in, she felt something hard underneath the shirts that were already there. Curious, she pushed them over and let out a gasp when her eyes focused on a black, metal and solid object.
"A gun?" she mumbled.
She dropped the clothes in and pushed the drawer shut. What was a gun doing in her father's shirt drawer? Was he planning on using it on somebody? Somebody in his own house? Outside, she heard the soft patter of rain. Jeri wished she never opened that drawer. Now she'll always have that awful image in her head. That gun just lying there, waiting to be used. Anticipating the moment when a hand will wrap around it and pull the trigger, extract the deadly contents from inside. The bullet, was looking forward into being plunged in someone's soft skin, drilling inside through muscle and bone. As Jeri walked away, she thought she heard someone call to her.
"Jeri Jeriiii"
"What? Who's there?"
"It's all right, Jeri. Don't be afraid. You can touch me. You know you want too. Come back, Jeri. Don’t' be frightened.."
"Go away!" she shouted. "Don't come near me."
"I'm not going to hurt you," said the voice. It sounded so calm, yet there was a tad of mischievousness behind it. It laughed. "I'm going to help you."
"Help me?"
"Yes, Jeri. I know how scared you of your father. There's one simple way to take care of that. That's where I come in, Jeri. I'll let all your problems go away."
"How?"
"Just play with me, Jeri. You won't need that old hand puppet anymore. I'm your new friend now."
"Who are you? Where are you?"
~Jeri's got a gun
Jeri's got a gun
Her dog day's just begun
Now everybody is on the run~
"Please, come closer, Jeri," the voice urged.
"Closer where? I don’t' see you."
"Can't you follow my voice? To the shirt drawer, Jeri."
"The gun?"
"Yes, Jeri. It is I. Come on now. Come look at me. Pick me up. I've been sitting in this drawer for too long, Jeri."
'Am I crazy?' Jeri wondered, taking a few steps back. 'Can a gun actually be speaking to me?'
"No you're not, Jeri."
"You can read my thoughts?"
"Of course I can. You're not crazy. Just scared. But I can protect you. I won't let anyone happen to you. To the drawer now."
Jeri slowly walked to the dresser drawer, uncertain what was going to happen.
"That's it, Jeri. One foot after the other."
Jeri's clammy hand touched the dresser drawer. She pulled on the handle.
Something underneath the clothes glowed. Could it be the gun? Was she seeing things? Was the gun alive?
"Ah, much better. Now, pick me up. Hold me. I want to be held in human's hands."
Jeri bit her lip. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea. My father--"
"Oh, he won't be home for another half hour. What are you waiting for Jeri? I know you want to feel stronger. Don't you?"
"Y-yes."
"You're tired of people thinking rotten things of you, right?"
"Uh-huh."
"You wish your dad would just leave you alone for good. Correct?"
"Well, yeah."
"Pick me up." It demanded impatiently. "Pick me up, now. What are you waiting for? Hurry now! Take me out of this retched drawer! I want out, I tell you!"
"Okay," Jeri swallowed and picked up the shirts, revealing the gun again. This time it didn't shock her as bad.
"Ah, it feels good to have that lifted off." The gun sighed and started to beg. "Now, Jeri. Come on, please? Please, you won't regret it. Do me a favor. You're such a nice girl, always doing people favors."
As her hand got closer to the gun, it began to chant "yes" again and again, continuing to keep on at her to pick it up. "Almost there, Jeri."
Jeri's hand located around the cold gun. "You're so cold," she commented.
"Yes, I am. Not when I'm in use."
She picked up the gun. It was heavy and she used both hands to take it fully out of the drawer. "Heavy too."
"Oh, but you'll get used to me."
Something came over Jeri. She somehow felt like the time she was possessed with the D-reaper. So out of control but so relaxed at the same time. She didn't even know what was going to happen. She almost forgot that feeling. The D-Reaper didn’t completely take her over. It was like her friend. It was a part of her. The D-Reaper needed someone to be its arms and legs and Jeri was that lucky body. Jeri still had use of her body and could walk around like anyone else. But the D-Reaper, the chaos, it was inside of her.
Jeri grinned and let out a sigh.
"See, Jeri? I knew you could do it."
"You don’t feel so heavy anymore," she said. "Or cold." She rubbed her hand over the barrel. "You feel nice."
"I am nice. I'll be your ally, Jeri. I'll be your friend. I'm not just a too or weapon, you know."
Jeri giggled. She caught herself in the mirror and was impressed with her reflection of her holding the gun. "Hmm, I look, so powerful."
"Oh yes, you are. No one will think of making hurting you now. Not with me around."
~Tell me now it's untrue
What did her daddy do?
He jacked a little bitty baby
The man has got to be insane
They say the spell that he was under
The lightning and the thunder knew that
Someone had to stop the rain~
"So when will we get to play?" Jeri asked, excited.
"Soon, Jeri. Soon."
The rain became heavier. It fell hard and loud. There was a boom of thunder and a flash of lightning.
"I can't wait."
"Me neither, Jeri. You'd better put me back now. But don't forget about me. I'll be right here."
"Okay," Jeri said, frowning slightly.
"Don't worry. We'll play soon."
"Do you promise?" Jeri questioned.
"Oh, of course, Jeri. I promise. We're friends."
Jeri smiled, "okay. Back you go." She put the gun gently back in the dresser and put the shirts on top of it. "Bye. Thanks."
"Hey, what are friends for?"
Jeri grabbed the laundry basket from the bed and walked out of the door. "See you later."
"I'll be here."
Jeri went on putting other clothes away and watching TV, minding her business when she heard the front open. Thinking it was her stepmother and half brother, she stepped out of her room to greet them.
"Hey, I put the--" she stopped dead and found that her father had just came home. "Oh, hello, Daddy."
"Where is everyone?" he questioned.
"They went shopping."
"Shopping?"
"Yes."
"When will they be back?"
"Not sure."
"When did they leave?"
"Um, a couple of hours ago I think," she answered.
There was a pile of magazines and books, and homework on the floor that Jeri was just looking through. When her father saw it, he got angry. "What's with the mess, young lady?"
"I was going to clean it up," she whispered.
"When? Three weeks from now? Pick it up!" He grabbed her arm and threw her to the floor. "Right now!"
Jeri gathered the books and put them on the shelves with her father watching her like a hawk, making sure she was doing it correctly. She put the magazines neatly back into the magazine holder next to the sofa. Jeri picked up her homework. "I'll just go finish my homework in my room."
"You'd better not be failing any of your classes," he muttered. "I am not paying for your schooling so that you will be falling behind and becoming stupid!"
"I'm not stupid," Jeri mumbled.
"Now get to it, young lady!"
"Yes, yes sir," Jeri said and left to her room before he hit her again.
~Run away, run away from the pain
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
run away, run away from the pain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Run away, run away, run, run away
Jeri went to her room and dropped her homework onto her bed. She heard the TV come on and she guessed her dad was now sitting down to watch his sports and drink beer. Jeri picked up her sock puppet and put it on.
"He's getting drunk again," Jeri said to it. "What should I do?"
"I don't know," the sock puppet replied. "Ask your new friend."
"Yeah, good idea." Jeri walked out of her room and tiptoed carefully to the master bedroom, still wearing her sock puppet on her left arm.
"Back again," the gun said, "I'm touched you still remember me."
"My dad is getting drunk and I'm afraid." Jeri said, coming to the drawer to open it. "What should I do?"
"It's time to play. Pick me up."
Jeri reached inside the drawer and found something new to play with. She held it in her right hand.
"To the living room. Let's be quiet."
A bit in a trance, she walked to the living room. Unbeknost to her father, that Jeri was standing behind him the gun.
"Let's scare him."
"Daddy," Jeri said, holding out her puppeted hand and making her puppet talk.
"Huh?" he turned around and gasped. "Jeri, what are you doing with that gun?"
"I'm just playing," Jeri said. She pulled her sock puppet off with her teeth and held the gun up with both hands. "I've made a friend."
"Jeri, put the gun down!"
"No!" she shouted.
"Pull the trigger, Jeri," the gun urged, "quickly. Let me take care of the rest. Pull, quickly he's coming, Jeri pull it! Now Jeri! It's him or you!"
Jeri's teeth clenched. Her hands become sweaty, but somehow the trigger pulled back. She didn't hear the sound of the gunshot. It was drowned out by a thunderclap. Everything went into slow motion. Her dad fell back with a bullet hole between his eyes. Jeri stood, shocked. She had done it and al she had to do was pull her finger back. It was so easy.
Jeri's got a gun
Jer's got a gun
Her dog day's just begun
Now every body is on the run
What did her daddy do?
It's Jeri's last I.O.U
She had to take him down easy and put a bullet in his brain
She said 'cause nobody believes me.
The man was such a sleaze, he ain't never
Gonna be the same.
"I-I did it," she stammered.
"No, Jeri, the gun corrected, "We did it."
"So what do we do now?" she asked.
"You have to get rid of his body. You can't leave it here."
"Where?"
"Anywhere. This is a big city."
Jeri walked up to the dead body. There was now blood streaming down his face. "I have an idea." She shoved the barrel of the gun in the back of her jeans and pulled hard on her dad's shirt. When they got to the table, she picked up the car keys. She opened the door and dragged her father out into the pouring rain.
"Where are we going, Jeri?" the gun questioned.
"You'll see," she answered, opening the car door. She gritted her teeth and put him in the passenger seat. Her strength was new and unusual. She wasn't always this strong. Jeri couldn’t always carry a dead man's weight but for some reason or another, she could do so now.
Jeri got in on the driver's side and opened the started the car. She drove on down the streets until she found some tracks. She laid her father down on top of them and drove away, parked the car and cut off the engine close enough to see if her plan worked. Five minutes later a train came and ran over her father.
"See?" Jeri said. "What you think?"
"Brilliant, Jeri. Wonderful work."
The engineer, who was trying to slow down the train to avoid, running over the dead man, finally was able to stop the train. It was of course too late. He got out and called the police.
"You'd better get going, Jeri," the gun said. "They'll be after you."
~Run away, run away from the pain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
Run away, run away, run, run away~
"Oh no," Jeri mumbled, starting the engine, putting the car in gear and slamming on the accelerator. Witnesses saw her drive away hastily, including the engineer. They believed her to be the suspect. Before she knew it, the cops were on her tail.
"Run, Jeri," the gun said. "Run and hide."
Jeri opened the door and jumped out of the car. She went trying to escape on foot. When she came to a fence, she jumped and climbed it. The in her body adrenaline was racing. The cops did the same. They were getting close. They were going to get her sooner or later.
"Stop! Police!" they shouted.
Jeri ran through the park and there were police there too. Jeri was surrounded.
"I have no where to go," she gasped, "I'm trapped!"
"Now you have the right to remain silent," an officer said, taking out some handcuffs.
"No! Wait, you don't understand," Jeri began, "I had to. I knew no one would believe me! It was my father. He's--he's crazy! It was him or me. Please, you've got to believe me!"
They patted her down and found the gun in the back of her jeans.
"No, don't take it! Please don't take my gun!"
"Goodbye, Jeri," the gun said, as it was placed in a plastic evidence bag, "But we had fun, right?"
Jeri felt hot tears stream down her cheeks. "Please! please!" She fell to her knees.
She felt her arms being pulled to her back and cold metal attached to her wrists. Someone was giving her rights but she couldn't understand a damn word they were saying. She was so out of it. Two officers walked her to the back of a police car and pushed her in.
Jeri was going to jail.
Jeri's got a gun.
Jeri's got a gun
Jeri's got a gun
Everybody is on the run
After Jeri had her fingerprints done, she was escorted to a jail cell. She sat there, the back of her head on the bars, wondering what was going to happen next. For some reason or another, she was humming, humming like she had gone insane.
"Jeri?" she heard a voice say.
"Huh?" she turned and saw a worried Takato in jeans and a wet unzipped raincoat over a red shirt. "Takato."
"Your stepmother just called me and told me what happened," he told her. "She's talking to the officers now. What made you do it?"
"I knew you wouldn’t believe me either," Jeri said.
"I probably will if you just tell me," Takato insisted. "What's going on, Jeri?"
"I had to do it, Takato," Jeri told him in monotone. "It was either him or me."
"How did you get your hands on a gun?"
"I found it in my parent's room," she replied. "Where is the gun anyway? It's probably worried about me. Can I have it back now?"
"Jeri listen to yourself," Takato said, "you've you've lost it."
"It saved me, you know," Jeri said. "It was so nice it talked to me."
"Oh my god Jeri " Takato gasped. He took in a deep breath and tried to be positive. "Don’t worry, Jeri everything's going to be okay."
"Thanks, Takato. You're so nice. Such a good friend. Can I have my gun back now?"
~Jeri's got a gun.
Her dog day's just begun
Now everybody is on the run
Because Jeri's got a gun
Jeri's got a gun
Her dog day's just begun
Now everybody is on the run
Jeri's got a gun~
