Making the Video

The three remaining horsemen sat on the couch in their apartment. Daniel's shaking hand was holding onto the video camera. They had to stick to the plan, even though everything was falling apart. Otherwise it was all for nothing. Everything they'd done was for nothing. Jack died for nothing.

He was never actually meant to die. He wasn't actually meant to have crashed on the bridge. He was meant to have crashed later on. Dylan had been frantically trying to pull him from the car because he knew that something had gone wrong. But it was too late. Jack was legally pronounced dead at the site of the crash.

After the accident, Dylan had revealed himself to them. He had explained why everything was happening. Just a few hours before, they'd have been amazed, but now it all seemed irrelevant. When Danny realised what was happening, he'd looked over to Jack to see how their youngest member was reacting to the news. Jack was always close by; his idolising of Danny had grown into a close friendship and possibly something more. When Danny saw the empty spot where Jack should have been standing, he'd felt sick to his stomach.

The last thing he'd said to the kid was berating him to grow up and stop being a coward. Now he wished he could take back those words and beg to take his place. He wished it was him instead. Without Jack, the group was crippled. He was the baby, the one who'd always cheer them up, the one who was so trusting and kind even though they knew he'd had a rough childhood.

And now they had to carry on, film the video like they were supposed to in the plan. This wasn't right. Jack was supposed to be sitting behind the camera, trying to make them laugh and screw up the video, not six feet under. Danny didn't know how he would survive without his ray of sunshine to brighten his days.

They placed the camera on its tripod and switched it on. Danny felt himself starting to hyperventilate and Henley grabbed his hand to try to calm him down. The tears were burning his eyes and steadily making their way down his cheeks. He didn't care what he looked like to all of the viewers, he hadn't slept since the accident, none of them had. His eyes were red and puffy and he knew he looked like a complete mess.

Henley started talking to the camera. "I guess you must know the news by now. The four horsemen are no more. Jack was in a car crash yesterday and..." She looked at Danny for reassurance. His face was filled with pain and she saw him wince as she said the words. "Well, he didn't make it."

Danny knew it was his turn to talk. He didn't want to do it, but knew that he'd regret it for the rest of his life if he didn't. "Jack was our youngest member. He had his whole life ahead of him. He was so full of life, I just can't even think about him being gone. I can't imagine life without him, but I know I don't want to know it. I still look for him. Every time somebody says something, I turn to see what he thinks and then I remember that he's gone and I'll never see him again. It hurts the same every time. I can't eat. I can't sleep. I can't get his face out of my mind. It's my fault. I pushed him to do something that he wasn't comfortable with. I should have been the one driving that car. He should be sitting here now. But he isn't. And I have to learn to deal with that guilt of all of the possibilities he had that will never come true. He was the centre of our group, the peace-keeper. He was the centre of my life. I loved Jack Wilder and I always will. More than anything in his life, Jack wanted to be the most famous magician who ever lived. And I can't say he achieved it, but I do hope wherever he is, it's full of magic. It's what he deserves. But the point is... Sorry. What I'm trying to say is... I can't do this."

He jumped up from his seat and fled the room, the sounds of his sobs were still audible and the other horsemen realised that everybody watching could still hear him. Merritt tried to finish off what Daniel was trying to say. "The point of why we're here is to say that we are not... We cannot quit now. We've started something bigger than all of us. We have to finish it." He nudged Henley to get her to finish with her line, not that Daniel had bothered to stick to the script, but realised that she wasn't capable of talking right now or she'd be in the same state as Danny and mentalist or not, Merritt couldn't deal with both of them. "Remember the name Jack Wilder when you see us live tonight at 5 Pointz."

The death of Jack Wilder had taken its toll on the group and they knew they would never fully recover from their loss. But Jack would never want them to quit because of him. All he'd want is for them to continue making magic, so that's what they'd do.