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He stared at the wall, deaf to her comfort, blind to everything around them. Slowly, stubbornly, he shoved himself to his feet, careful not to put any more weight on his arm than he had to. Then he reached up, grabbing onto the stone, his fingers gripping it as hard as he could.

One leg came up, stepping on one of the lower rocks and he pulled himself upwards-- The slime made his foot slip and he hung for a second before his hand gave out.

He fell down again, grunting. For a moment he couldn't breathe, he was gasping and panting. Then he tried to force himself to calm down.

It didn't work.

Little Roch leaned back against the hard pokey rocks on the inside of the well, letting his eyes close for a moment. A single tear trickled down his cheek, which he reached up angrily to wipe away. His breathing was harsh, but the silence was overwhelming right now.

The trickle of water dripping into the water at his feet seemed extremely loud right now. Drip. Drip. Drip.

He sniffled, hugging his arms around himself. Then abruptly his jaw came up, his eyes opening again. The air around him seemed to get heavier, his FEAR building--

Then it disappeared.

Another tear trailed over his cheeks. "I don't... I don't wanna die," the little boy whispered.

He stopped, his shoulders squaring, his jaw jutting out stubbornly. "I'm NOT going to die!" he told himself, his hands fisting at his sides. "I'm NOT GOING TO DIE YOU STUPID GHOSTS!!" he bellowed. The FEAR began to build again, twisting and turning and rising up around the little boy at an astonishing rate for someone that young.

The FEAR throbbed around his fist, gathering, solidifying, forming into a smaller version of the guitar that she had seen many times before. "I'm NOT going to die," Roch snarled, slamming the body of the guitar into the rocky wall. Sparks flew, metal hitting rock, gouging through it--

"I can change it," Roch's older voice growled, almost from all around them.

The scene went blank, but the wetness at their feet disappeared, replaced by solid ground. Wind came from all around, more powerful than expected, and slowly the scene became lit again. Somewhat.

"Well... Jack," Roch said, turning to look all around him. He saw Xiu now. But before he could say anything he saw the ghosts that surrounded them, rising into the air. They were on a rooftop, he wasn't sure what rooftop it was, but he had a feeling he sort of knew where they were.

He was having a dream about the future. His mind was filling in blanks with shadows, such as what building they were on, but when he looked down he could see quite clearly what he was wearing.

It looked a lot like what his old man wore. A long black trenchcoat, a black shirt, black pants, and black shoes. His guitar was the only color on him, and it seemed to be glowing.

He didn't realize it, but the face Xiu saw as he turned back to her was almost an exact mirror of his old man's.

"Xiu," he said quietly. "I'm sorry. You probably saw that too, huh?" he asked, a bit frustrated. "I didn't--I'm still not in complete control," he admitted. "I'm probably going to forget I'm dreaming soon."

There were more ghosts around them, which he looked around, paling slightly as he saw them. "No," he growled, his hands going to his guitar again. The song he started playing was like nothing he'd ever played before. It was sweet, yet haunting, and seemed to be forgotten as soon as the notes reached the air.

The ghosts started to fade, twisting and heading upwards. It probably wasn't how reaping really was, but it's how his mind thought it should be. Yet, even though the song sounded so beautiful, his face was pale and taunt. His fear and hatred shined in his narrowed silver eyes.

"I have to break this habit," he whispered.

He looked at her again, letting the last strains of the song linger in the air before the ghosts around them seemed to disperse. There was something strange about that look, a hint of confusion. "Xiu?" he asked again. "Nah, you look too young... are you her little sister or something?" he asked, heading over to the little ghoul.

"You can't be her daughter! I ain't old enough to have a kid your age, which means she isn't either! Wait--" He frowned, mentally counting. "Maybe if she was still in her teens--but I woulda heard about that!" he said, shaking his head. He gave her a grin, one that somehow looked sharper, more dangerous than his teenage grins.

"Man you're a beauty," he said teasingly. "But how'd you get in the human world? You need to get back!"

"Back to Halloween," Roch said, walking over to her and dropping a hand on the small of her back. "This way, screech," he said gallantly, waving a hand to indicate a door that seemed to have just appeared. He reached up, turning the knob and gently pushing her forward.

The world went black for a second, then they were standing in an alley. There was noise, far more noise than one would expect. It was the sound of people cheering and music blaring. There were tattered papers fluttering around, and on the wall there was a worn looking poster.

Riley's face looked back at them. The words "All Hail The Pumpkin King" were scrawled across the bottom of the poster in gold. Roch looked at it with a hint of amusement, then shook his head. "Looks like it's Riley Gras time again."

"You ever been to Riley Gras?" Roch asked, grinning. "This is one awesome party! But if you're related to Xiu she probably wouldn't let you come until you were older," he admitted, heading out of the alley and into the street. There were masses of people on the sidewalks, but it was the large, colorful vehicles going down that street that were getting all the attention.

"There she is!" he said, pointing to the largest of the floats. There was a band on the front part, but there was a stand above them, empty. "Jack I love that woman," he said, grinning widely. "Come on! My float awaits!" he said, reaching for her hand to tug her to the massive musical float. He was greeted with cheers and offered a ladder to get on with.

"Back when we were in Amity she gave me a little wooden platform and a massive chair," Roch told Xiu as he offered to help her up. "Now she gives me my own jackin' FLOAT! Oh, and the massive amphitheater downtown," he added casually. "I rent it out most of the time, though. Hey, maybe I'll give you a concert, you and the rest of the family. If I can talk Xiu into it, that is. And her hubby." He had a bland expression on his face when he said that last part.