Chapter 8: New Home
In a deserted corner in the city of London at night. JoJo is looking at her new home. A two-story green stereotypical Victorian-era house.
“This is a nice house. Where did you get this house Rob?” she said, looking at the house and the neighborhood around.
Looking into his pockets, Robert took out a key and went inside the house, feeling nostalgic as he claps the dust off his hand that he got from the door handle.
“It’s my brother’s house before he died. Got stabbed by a boy,” he said, going back to the carriage to bring JoJo’s luggage.
“Why didn’t you bring any helpers with you? Your already old,” she said, going inside the living room. JoJo started to notice the old air around the room as the dust started to fill the air because the house is no longer empty of people.
“Of course, that’s because the lady can only be accompanied by the finest gentleman. Also, you wanted privacy so I have no choice but to do it alone,” he said, carrying a tall box that contains a stone block.
“You're going to break your back if you do that. Why are you so stubborn?” she asked, looking at the funny figure of Robert struggling to carry the box.
“How can I let a lady lift something so heavy. You’ve suffered enough. At least let me bear the burden of carrying this for you,” he said, unsteadily putting the box down. After looking at the remaining boxes in the carriage, he started to feel young again.
‘Haha, when was the last time I have to lift so much like this?’ he thought as he prepared himself for a long night.
After looking at Robert lifting her luggage, JoJo sighed and started to roam the house, kicking up dust along the way.
“This place really is nice. A shame that the owner left,” she said, touching the green white walls.
Looking around for a while, JoJo found out that there was no water or bathroom in the house. After, realizing this, JoJo went back upstairs from the basement and went out of the house.
“Where are you going, JoJo?” Robert asked, carrying two suitcases on both of his hands.
“I’m just going to look around,” she said, walking in a random direction. Lonely on the streets, JoJo looked at the buildings left and right, admiring the design of London in the past.
“Hmm”
Walking on the snowy roads of London, JoJo heard voices from different people in an ally. Crying, shouting, and the sound flesh meeting flesh like someone beating another person.
“Trouble,” she said, Ignoring the sounds and walked away.
As the sound of her feet on the snow cold ground filled her head, JoJo started to feel cold. A feeling that she almost forgot. It only took a few moments before JoJo felt bad as the past guilt started to crawl all over her as an illusion of numerous blood-red faces manifested on her back.
Killer! Weakling! Monster! Defect! A mistake! Failure!
Voices started to appear on JoJo’s head, but she ignored them. But she ignored them too hard and bumped into someone.
“I’m sorry,” JoJo said, helping the man who fell.
“Don’t apologize. It’s me that ran into you,” he said, taking JoJo’s arm.
‘Cold, even with my gloves my hand feels so cold’ he thought, caressing the hand that was touched by JoJo
“Lady, you should put some gloves on,” he said before he hurried away.
Looking at her hands, JoJo felt cold not only on her hands.
“Sigh…Why don’t I just forget about all this and just flee somewhere far away,” she said, walking away, causing deep footsteps on the snow.
As the moon started to fall in the night sky, JoJo went back to her new home.
“Alright JoJo, I’m going back now. Here are the keys, don’t lose it now,” Robert said, giving the keys and left.
Seeing the carriage slowly leaving, JoJo felt lost. With nothing else to do, she carried all of her bags to the basement.
In the basement of the house, JoJo put down the chisel on her hand as she slowly stood up from her seat.
“I don’t even remember their faces anymore,” she said, looking at the incomplete face on the sculpture.
With nothing else to do, JoJo trained her body and explore her vampire powers the rest of the day. Learning how to freeze her body and how to shoot lightning from her fingertips.
Looking at the burnt wall and the feeling numbness on her arm, JoJo felt like a dark lord.
“I could also use the electric current to enhance my reaction time but I don’t think that’s safe,” she said, remembering her memory problem.
When night came, JoJo walked around the streets mindlessly and also found a bar.
Hypnotizing the bar owner, she took some booze and went home while drinking. At first, the alcohol has no real effect on her, but after a while, JoJo controlled her body so that she can get drunk. Making her days pass easier. But on her third night, she noticed the street where there’s usually faint screaming of abuse is no longer there.
‘Did the kid die? Or did they move out’ she thought.
She was curious, half drunk and the cold heavy guilt was unbearable. finally, after a moment, JoJo finally went towards the alley where she heard the sounds
Walking in the dark alley she found a black boy with brown hair unconscious on the cold snowy ground. Unknown if he’s dead or alive.
Looking at the boy, JoJo’s mind started to conflict. To save the child and keep him in her house or ignore the boy
“I hope I don’t regret this,” she said, picking up the boy and putting him on her back.
‘This kid is too light and skinny,’ she thought as she brought him to her house.
Thankfully the streets are empty, otherwise, when people see an adult woman carrying a kid around 12 years old on her back, it would look suspicious.
Coming inside the house. JoJo put the kid down on a chair next to a fireplace and took her cape off and draped it over the kid.
“I should’ve just brought a dog or cat instead of this kid if I wanted company,” she said, putting firewood on the fireplace and light it on fire with her fingers by excreting alcohol on her fingertips and setting it on fire with electricity.
‘I hope I can still cook after not doing it for 21 years,’ she thought, going out of the house to buy ingredients.
After a while, after JoJo went away, the boy woke up, surprised that he’s not dead in the cold.
“Where am I? Did someone save me?”
The boy looked around the house but found nobody. Although he noticed that the place has bottles of alcohol, and what freaked him out was the basement. It was full of sculptures of people from young to old that’s incomplete. Some of them look fine but all of them look angry or miserable. Especially the old man sculpture with the name George Joestar.
Feeling afraid, the young boy ran up the stairs and coincidently met JoJo.
“I thought you ran away kid, it’s dangerous to run outside in the middle of the night you know,” she said, not realizing that her choice of words made the kid more scared.
“Why would I run away? You’re my savior after all,” he said, scared at the thought if JoJo figured out that he wanted to escape.
‘what is she going to do to me? why of all people she kidnaps, it’s me?’ he thought.
“Well sit down. I’ll cook a meal for you,” she said, noticing the boy’s stiff movement as he sat by the fireplace.
Sitting down back on the chair, the boy now started to notice somethings that scared him even more.
‘Why are the windows blocked?’
Looking at the windows blocked by either a shelf or by a large piece of wood, the boy’s desire to escape skyrocketed.
Standing up from the seat, the boy walked slowly to the door but found out that the door is locked.
‘I’m doomed!’ He thought as he slowly walked back to the chair. Sitting just in time before the JoJo came back.
“You should eat, I cooked you some chicken with some bread,” she said, coming out of the kitchen.
“Do I have to?” He asked, worried about the food that JoJo mentioned.
“You need to be more fat, you’re too skinny. Did your parents not take care of you at all,” she said, sitting down on a chair next to the boy.
‘she’s going to fatten me up!’ the boy screamed in his mind as he rigidly replies to JoJo.
“Then…thank you miss,” he said, standing up.
“No problem,” she said, taking the boy’s hand and going towards the kitchen.
“Cold,” the boy taken by surprise at the coldness of JoJo’s hand said.
“Ah, sorry if my hand’s too cold,” she said, leading towards the kitchen.
Following the lady to the dining table in the kitchen, the boy smelled the fragrance of meat, making his stomach rumble.
JoJo smiled after hearing the boy’s grumble and sat on the opposite of the dining table.
“Miss, why don’t you also eat?” the boy asked, seeing nothing on JoJo’s side.
“I already ate, don’t worry about me,” she replied as she rested on her arm. Watching the boy eat.
“Oh, then I’ll eat,” he said, folding his hands and closed his eyes.
‘God please save me!’ he prayed as his hands trembled,
Seeing the boy’s trembling hands, JoJo thought the boy was grateful and was happy, and a larger smile appeared on her face.
After he’s done with the prayer, he started to eat slowly.
“you don’t have to savor the food, I can make more if you want,” she said, scaring the boy.
“No, no, it’s enough,” he said, scared at the thought of eating more of this mysterious lady’s food.
“You don’t have to be polite. Also, what’s your name? My name is Joanna Joestar” she asked, looking at the boy.
“My name William Jackson.”
“So, William, why are you outside in the snow when I found you?” she said, causing the edge of William’s lips to pull down, forming a frown.
“My parents don’t like me much because my skin is black,” he said, making JoJo puzzled.
“If your skin is black, aren’t your parent’s skin also black?” she said. In response, the boy shook his head.
“No, both my parents have white skin. My grandparents are also white. They said I was an abnormality, saying that I’m not their child. Mother was beaten up because of this, saying that the mother cheated,” he said, no longer eating.
After a period of silence have passed. JoJo looked at William and noticed that there’s some kind of white powder on his body
“Do you think that being black is bad?” JoJo asked, puzzling William.
“That’s what my dad tells me.”
“Wrong! I have lots of black friends and they’re awesome. Don’t let your people tell you otherwise,” she said, surprising William.
“Really?!”
‘maybe this lady is not bad,’ he thought as he met the first person that didn’t
“Of course, now finish your dinner, I’m going to practice my art in the basement,” she said, reverting William’s thoughts about JoJo.
‘Art? What is she going to do?!’ he screamed in his heart as he slowed down his eating even more.
“For now, you can stay here, if you want to go home then tell me,” she said, standing up and going to the basement.
Looking at JoJo’s back, William’s was In a mess.
‘Did she save me and I was just thinking too much or are it when I tell her I’m going home she will do something to me?’ William thought.
Meanwhile, in the basement, JoJo started sculpting again. This time the sculpture that she’s making has the name, William Jackson. If William saw this, he will definitely run away as fast as humanly possible.
Thx