Jake T

Boom! I stormed through the large glass doors of the hospital, shuddering rapidly afterwards. Tears showered down my cheeks as I thought about the scene I had just witnessed inside the hospital. My footsteps felt like anvils constantly dropping. My thoughts; headaches. Suddenly, I stopped. I was waiting at the curb for my best friend Sean to pick me up. We had booked a flight to Los Angeles. “The Land of Dreams” is what they call it. Sean and I had been offered a stunning job offer there and we accepted it. Before leaving, I stopped in Melbourne to check on my dying father. Life was draining out of him. Cancer. I was too late though. A lightning bolt struck from the dark sky and landed in the middle of the rocky road. I knew it was a bad idea stopping at this wretched place. Just thinking about it made my eyes well up with fat tears. I bumped into my sister but that didn’t matter anymore, she was going to the airport too, but taking a flight to London for a “new life”, escaping us; me and mum.

I glanced left as I heard a car’s engine blustering. It was Sean in his blue Camry. Bingo. He isn’t perfect but at least he had a car. He’s my best friend; he’s not the best at everything but he’s there for me and that’s what matters. He pulled up. I grabbed the door and pulled it open. Just as I stepped, I heard his voice.

“Heard the bad news! Hope you’re alright.” There was a long awkward pause. “Yeah, thanks.” I muttered. Sean was a chatterbox but he knew when to shut up. As the car zoomed off, it felt like slow motion. The car was old and rusty but as it took off, all the memories came back. Memories of Lucie and I, mum and I and… dad. The dark old buildings made of brick stood out more than ever. The paleness was extreme to my naked eye.The mouldy grassy vines had taken over more than I remembered. I poked out of the window and saw a billboard for a kids movie. Many Worlds, probably some Sci-Fi junk, I thought. I sighed. Everything seemed duller now, since I’d left.

As the car pulled up, I grabbed my heavy luggage and waited for Sean. He parked a good hundred metres from the check-in desk, so I waited. I pondered about L.A and how it would be a great experience. About 10 minutes later, he returned. We made it to checkout but there was a line, too long for my liking. The pupils in the line were as impatient as a group of 5 year olds. We overheard stories about why they were here and that they were in a rush. I was about to tell one of them that we’re all in a rush but it wasn’t important. When we finally reached the desk, the woman checking in our bags was plain and rude, as though she thought that we were lesser than her.

After finally checking in, we went to departure gate 604. As we sprinted to the gate, I glanced at my watch. 6:04pm. We were late. I gulped and continued to sprint.

I felt nothing but worry and distress. The clock was ticking. I glanced at Sean. I couldn’t see him. I suddenly spotted him in line so I slowed down, when I reached him, he asked me a question.

”Should I go,?” Sean asked. My eyebrows rose.” Leave you alone? Give you some…”

“Yes,” I stated.

As soon as Sean was out of sight, the tears came back. They showered down my shirt like a waterfall. I fell to my knees, hands to my face and I let it all out. Eventually, it stopped. I got back up and carried on. I didn’t know if I was noticed, but I didn’t care.

As soon as Sean was back, we boarded. I enjoyed being called Mr Myers; I had been shown some respect for once. Our seat numbers were D-16 and D-17. We were at a window. As I sat in the chair, I realised how uncomfortable it was. Economy. I buckled my seatbelt and waited for the metal beast to take off. “About the food business,” I chuckled. “What have you got Sean?” Sean had always wanted to start a food business with me and I was ok with that. We accepted the job offer to get us back on our feet. Suddenly all my thoughts got to me; gave me another headache. I didn’t know if it was G-force or my depressive life; I pushed the negative thoughts out of my mind, I was starting again; a fresh clean state.

As soon as the plane was steady, I took a nap, my eyes closing slowly… “Wake up!” Sean whispered. ”Wake up!” Sean was shaking me like a 2 year old shaking their rattle. My eyes opened and I moved Sean’s hands off of me. I felt a thud on my back. I grunted. I looked at the isle next to me and everyone was asleep but one. He was staring at me and Sean, his smile went halfway up and face and he presented all his teeth, how long was he watching us? He looked tired but he kept staring. But I could respect the “mental”, as my dad started going insane when the symptoms kicked in.

I glanced out of the miniature window to see the calm and refreshing ocean. That’s the first thing that made me smile all day.

”Ughh,” I moaned quietly. I felt urine pushing against my bladder. I quickly lunged up to swiftly move to the bathroom.

“Sorry,” I said politely, “my bad”. I finally made it past the people. I swiftly made it to the bathroom and did my business.

I glanced out the window to see a unexpected and frightful sight. The engine was burning! Was I dreaming? I gulped and started to sprint to the cockpit. Suddenly the plane started to fly on a slope. I started to slide. I didn’t know what I was doing but that didn’t matter. I thumped on the door, I yanked the door with all my might, but it didn’t budge. I tried to climb up the chair but by then, it was already too late. The plane began to fall like a child throwing their toy. Unconsciousness consumed me into pure darkness.

I woke up. I looked down. Shirt ripped. Blood everywhere, oozing out of my left leg. I attempted to get up. There was too much pain. I lay back down. I shivered and shook my body with not enough stability. I heard nothing but my cold and frosty breath. Another shiver flew down my spine. My teeth grinded as there was immense pain in my jaw. They stung like an eternal pain. I thought about death and about how I scratched the surface. I managed to stand up. I screamed, it echoed throughout the endless snowy forest. A cacophony of my own pain. The pain was unbearable.

I shed a tear down my cheek as I started to limp, hopefully only temporary. I scanned the area to see debris of the crash scattered everywhere. A horrific idea spread throughout my brain; “Sean!?” I was now determined to find Sean. I glanced down at myself. My shoes were soggy and torn. My shirt was wrecked and I was freezing. Frostbite and hyperthermia were on my tail catching up by the second. I started trudging through this snowy blanket of snow. As I trudged through the leaves of the unknown forest, I repeated the same question; “ Where are you Sean?” Hoping that my voice was loud enough to be heard.

I trudged for what felt like hours seeing the dead horrific corpses of the crash, there was blood squirting out of one of them, it reminded me of my father’s stories of the Vietnam War. He said he saw hell and now I believe him. I continued until I saw him. Sean had been impaled with branch, blood oozing out of his leg and he was screaming. Who knows for how long? The tree was only growing; tall enough to have strong branches but small enough so I could reach him.”J…J-Jameson,?” Sean muttered, “help me!” I checked my pockets, nothing. I stared at the tree, there was a knife smeared with blood stuck in the tree. I crouched down and grabbed it. “Hang on Sean.” I started to cut the branch while Sean was screaming with all the energy he had left. I held his life in my hands. I couldn't lose someone else, not today.When I was done, I reached down and picked up some soggy leaves and placed it on his right leg, I grabbed the knife and cut a large amount of my shirt. I tied it around his agonising leg. We started to look for shelter.

Out in the corner of my eye, I spotted a wooden shack. As we grew closer, I could immediately tell it was abandoned. The dominant Mother Nature had taken over leaving little trace of human life. When we made it to the front, I opened the door. There was a long loud creak. I suddenly heard footsteps in the deep snow. I glanced back to check if I was being watched, I just knew I was. I entered into the shack, someone else had been here. I gulped, was it someone from the crash? I had no idea and quite frankly, I didn't want to. I spotted a relatively new computer, a fridge but what caught my eye the most was a gun. I didn’t usually enjoy stealing but now was an exception. This person had everything, we had nothing. I grabbed some food and of course, the gun.

As we left the shack, we looked for a safer shelter. We continued to trudge through the icy cold conditions of the forest. It stood out like a pin in a haystack, nobody had really ever been here for years. The island was isolated from humanity. Sean leaned on me and grunted. I stared down at him, looked away. We needed shelter. Sean was dying and I had to try and prevent it. My body continued to freeze, freeze quicker than the speed of a bullet. Suddenly a twig snapped. As quick as light, I turned left to see a man dressed in grey stalking us. He showed no emotion, like he was a clone of some sort, a robot. He showed no sign of leaving. We hadn't startled him.

I pulled out the gun, my hands were shaking, if I shot the bullet, it would definitely miss If I didn’t, he’d… Who knows. “You there, we don’t know what you’re doing but…” I was speechless. He still didn’t show any sign of leaving. I grabbed Sean, he got back on me, I ran, ran until my legs couldn’t carry me. “Alright,” I panted out, “we should set up here.” I hoped that we’d gotten far enough away.

“Yeah, sure, won’t bother me.” Sean lay down slowly on a log, fed up with life. I sighed. I started to collect sticks and secure a shelter, for now. When it was dark, I was frightened; frightened that he would come back. What kind of psycho maniac would live out here, isolated from humanity? You know, it doesn’t really matter. But what if he’s kind? Was he from the crash? No! I’m eliminating any possibilities. After seeing all the dead corpses, he couldn’t have survived. I need to think about saving Sean and returning to our lives. I’ve lost too much, I’ve learnt a lesson from the past, of all the sorrow.

My surroundings were as black as the universe. I hesitantly lit a fire, frightened that the man would notice, but what if he already knew? I lit it and gulped, scanning the area. I felt majorly insecure. I glanced at Sean. Fast asleep. I lay back down and shut my eyes. I woke up in agony, heart beating at speeds unimaginable. Sean was already awake; eating.

I was relieved. I figured that Sean wouldn’t want to talk. I felt anxious so I glanced around seeing nothing but the endless symmetricality of the forest. “Hungry?” Sean asked. “Yes, thanks.” Sean passed some canned beans. Sean shivered and shook. So I limped to the campfire and lit it, Sean dimly smiled. “I’ll get some sticks.”

I bent down and collected as many as I could hold and would return afterwards. On my third time picking sticks, I saw him again. He was a matter of metres away, I heard him chuckle like a crazy person. He stepped forward and snapped a twig but didn’t care. I stepped back, anxiously pulling my gun out and my hands started to sweat causing my gun to shake. The man moved closer and I pressed on the trigger but before I could, he grabbed the front of the gun covering the muzzle. Out of pure instinct, I yanked the gun and ran, not thinking twice about looking back. I entered our little shelter and I bent down and panted, my breath; louder than the birds clattering. Sean was chewing and looking at the fire. I poked my head out of the logs. He was gone. There was an emptiness in the forest.

“We need to get out of here Sean!” I said anxiously. Sean turned away from the fire slowly and stared at me. “Why?”

“Because HE will return!” There was a long icky pause. We grabbed our food and left. We ran out of pure anxiety but realised it was useless.

“Where are we?” Sean asked. “I don’t know”.

3 days passed shrouded constant anxiety and insecurity. Sean and I’s cheeks had shrunk. We had been bruised with hunger. Our eyes were soggy and we weren’t noticing many details. We were out of options, we had to face the anonymous. I cocked the handgun, there was one round in the chamber. We had to find a way out of here as the last 3 days had failed miserably.

Sean’s leg had stopped bleeding. We trudged to the shack where we’d stole from. As we entered. I could tell everything had changed. There was no food except for a half eaten chocolate bar, and the computer was gone. The man was clearly living here but where is he?

Sean spotted a trail of wet boot marks. As we started to follow, I felt like I was being watched. “This place is creepy!”, Sean muttered. “Yeah I know.” Sean’s dream was to start a food company and wanted me to join. Just as he started talking about it, I could tell he was better than he was 5 days ago. He would go on and on about it, but it pleased me to see some happiness in him. I had frequent flashbacks of my friend and only friend; Sean at home.

Lightning struck behind us and landed on a flat clean patch of dirt. I turned suddenly behind us to look at the patch, a loud snap of a stick was heard towards Sean's right. His jaw dropped, it was like his soul had left his body. The man’s empty soul took hold so Sean, suddenly threw him to the ground. He started to turn to me, he pulled out a large knife and ran at me. I sprinted the opposite direction and managed to pull out the gun. As I got hold of the gun it slipped from my hand, but he hadn't noticed. He staggered towards me, I stopped. The man came to a sudden halt, he began to remove his grey mask.

His face was unique, unlike anything I'd ever seen before; creepy and concerning. He wasn't ugly but he was just purely insane. His grin went halfway up his face, his eyes were multicoloured, orange in the left and green in the right. He almost looked like a nightmare. No, it was the man in the plane, he couldn't have, did he cause the plane to crash? Flashes of his smile spread through my brain like a viral video. Processing this went deep into my heart. He looked like my father, his hair and face shape was symmetrical. Dad always told me that he had a brother, he said he was mental, ran away and that he was never seen again. My brain shut down. Dad, I thought, is this your brother? Suddenly he swiped his knife towards my stomach, I dodged to my left and backed into a stone wall. I spread my arms against the wall. I gulped, closed my eyes, turned to the left. He was moving in closer. “FINISH IT,” I yelled.

He pulled the blade up and … Sean came out of nowhere and valiantly leaped onto the man’s body causing him to collapse to the ground. We ran to the exit of the clearance, anxiousness catching up on us. “Here,” Sean whispered. We crouched down to reduce the noise. I held my breath and stared at Sean. I smiled. “Best friends?” Sean asked. “Best friends”. I glimpsed around the corner and saw a free exit. I stepped on a leaf and it made a sound louder than a lion's roar. There he was, he popped up and ran towards us. “Run, Sean!” I screamed. It appeared that the man was a sorcerer. He teleported almost instantaneously in front of me. He charged a fireball with his hands and was about to blast it when we turned and ran the other way. Sean’s limp was worse than mine. The man caught up with him easily. I ran up the hill and looked back.”Sean! No!”

The man shoved Sean over and stabbed him consistently in the back. As he lifted up the knife again, I pulled out the gun, looked away and shot the bullet. It flew and hit the man in the head, his head exploding upon impact. I dropped the gun and ran to Sean. I fell to my knees. “Sean, you're gonna be alright.” I said un-confidently. “Promise me s s something,” Sean muttered.”Anything”. I said gloomily,”Start the Jameson and Sean food business.” “Sure,” I said,” Just don’t leave me, not now, I've lost too much.” Tears flooded down my cheek.” It’s ok, don’t worry.” Sean muttered. “You’re my one and only friend, Sean” I said. “I know…” His eyes slowly shut. His soul left his body but for the last time. One single tear dropped on Sean’s chest. I stood up and limped to the beach.

Out in the corner of my eye, I spotted a boat. We’d moved towards the outer edge of the forest before, to the beach. I followed our tracks. I didn’t think twice and hopped in. It was very old, moss stuck to the side. I started to row.

Two days passed. I was dying on the inside. My heart eating up the rest of me. Part of me was lost. “Why” I screamed. Suddenly, a helicopter appeared out of nowhere, a fellow lowered down on a hook to pick me up. “Cmon mate”

“There's someone there.” I muttered. “Who, he’s probably dead”. My arm reached out to the island. I blacked out.

10 years passed. I'm a family man now. Two kids, a wife. I’ve got a decent life.Jameson and Sean's Café or JSC is Australia's largest Café company. I try not to think about Sean too much as I still get a bit teary. I do know I should be smiling though as Sean saved my life. After giving a vast majority of the money to Sean’s family, part of me felt better, knowing I could help them. However, part of me is still missing. All I know is that my best friend is still part of me and always will be.