Chapter One

                                    

                                          
"Babe?" Signe questioned, curled up in a blanket on her side of the sofa.

                          
Jack didn't reply. 
                          
It was late in the evening, with only the light of the TV illuminating the living room. Bingeing Netflix shows together over pineapple pizza had become a Friday night tradition... but it seemed tonight only Signe was paying attention.
                          
Jack gazed off at a different point in the room, lost in thought. It wasn't uncommon for him to briefly drift off to other things, but it was his expression that concerned her. His brow furrowed in frustration as his eyes critically focused on whatever matter played through his mind. A hint of uneasiness rested in the subtle lines on his forehead – the same uneasiness that made him pick at his nails and tap his foot. 
                          
"Sean," Signe said again.
                          
Hearing his name finally broke his focus.
                          
"Is everything ok?" she asked.
                          
"Yea, yea I'm fine," Jack reassured, diminishing the matter. "I was just thinking about the recordings today."
                          
He wasn't going to get away with that excuse. 
                          
"You don't seem fine," she said sliding closer. "You seem tense. Did something happen in the community?"
                          
"No, its just-" he hesitated to continue. "Recording has felt a little... off."
                          
"Off?" Signe questioned.
                          
"I can't really describe it," he said. "It doesn't feel like a creative 'burn out' – at least not the kind I've had in the past. But something keeps throwing me off..."
                          
Jack paused, replaying in his mind what he could remember of the recording "incident" earlier that afternoon. It only made his stomach knot with apprehension. He didn't want to tell her about the details  – about what he experienced or the premonition he heard. It would only make her more concerned. 
                          
He continued with uncertainty, "...I just feel this constant undertone of anxiety. I don't know... I'm worried I'm not giving all my effort into recording because of it."
                          
"You've played a lot of horror games this month," Signe said. "Maybe you've gotten a little too much into the Halloween spirit?" 
                          
"Nah, those don't really affect me that much."
                          
"Oh really?" she said unconvinced. "You don't get scared?"
                          
"It's for the camera. It makes the video more exciting."
                          
"You nearly dropped a stack of plates when I snuck up on you doing the dishes last week."
                          
"The lights were off and the house was really quiet-"
                          
She grinned at him as he made excuses. 
                          
"Okay, you've made your point," he yielded with a half-smile. 
                          
He took a deep breath, "It's just... everything is going so well right now," he explained. "The channel is thriving, the community is as strong as ever, I have my best friend right here with me... There's two more slices of pineapple pizza sitting within my reach."
                          
"Who was that best friend you were talking about?" she asked with the same grin.
                          
"Septiceye Sam, of course!"
                          
Signe playfully punched his arm, trying not to laugh, "Jerk."
                          
"You know the real answer," Jack reassured. "I just feel so grateful for where I'm at right now. My life could have taken so many different turns... yet I find myself with all I could ask for. I don't want to lose it. I don't want to make a mistake."