When the Clock strikes 12

Chapter 8 [Jake's Path] - Day 8 - A Double-Edged Sword

Devan woke up, as usual, to the wind against his face, but he also woke up to another feeling: Discomfort. Over the past few days, Devan found that his dreams were filled with visions of Jake and Kathryn, he was torn; he wanted to get to know Jake, but at the same time, he knew that would upset Kathryn. This very day is what would cement his decision and consequently set him on a path that would make him a hero. "I'd better get breakfast made." Devan sighed, "How am I gonna get out of this?"

Kathryn yawned loudly, a signal to Devan that she was waking up, which would be a good thing if not for the mental tug-of-rope that he was playing in his mind. As Kathryn stepped out of her tent, Devan greeted her with his best attempt at being genuine, "G-Good morning Kathryn!" Kathryn smiled, "Good morning Devan!" a bead of sweat trickled down Devan's face, "Where the hell did that stutter come from?!". Devan sat down and started to eat his egg, careful to not let his nervousness show, yet Kathryn was as unaware as she always was. After the two minutes that Kathryn took to eat the egg, which felt like two hours for Devan, she finally asked if he wanted to get in the van, "Wanna head out?" Devan stood up, "Alright.".

When Devan drove the van out of the parking building, his mind once again wandered to Jake and Kathryn, "Ugh, I'm gonna have to choose aren't I." Devan started to space out, "Jake or Kathryn... Jake or Kathryn..." "DEVAN!". Devan slammed on the brakes, "Didn't see ya there." Jake stood in the road, unphased. "What the hell!?" Kathryn was fuming, meanwhile, Jake kept his smug grin on his face, "Woah there redhead, why're you so angry," Jake teased, his tone  didn't falter, "We could have killed you!" At that moment, Devan burst out of the van, "What's going on here?"

Kathryn's face was red with anger, "This asshole stepped onto the road when he saw our car driving towards him!" Jake put on the same bewildered expression that Devan had, "He nearly got run over and now you're yelling at him?!". Kathryn was red with anger at this point, "THAT IS IT! I'M DONE WITH YOU!" Kathryn stormed off, leaving Devan stunned. "I'm so sorry Devan." Devan looked down and slowly walked back to his van, "I," he paused, "I need some time.". Jake smirked when Devan walked back, but that smirk slowly turned into a frown, "Those words, I swear I've heard them before..." then suddenly, the memories came flooding back.

A small figure dropped to the floor in front of Jake, "THAT'S IT, I AM DONE WITH YOU!" he screamed at them, but there was no response, so he screamed yet again, worry slowly filled his voice, "Come on! Get up!". As he inspected their wound, Jake saw that their arm was nearly split in two, a pool of blood was forming, and tender pieces of flesh speckled around the injury. With the state of his victim becoming more and more apparent, he felt an overwhelming mix of fear, sadness, and utter disgust with himself. Jake dropped the bloody object he wielded and stumbled to the opposite side of the room, where he picked up the landline with his blood-covered hands and dialled 911. "Hello," Jake coughed, "my brother is very hurt," he sharply inhaled, "please come soon,". Jake fell to his knees and the rest of the memory was nothing but crying. 

Jake stood alone in the desolate wastelands with his once repressed memories now hitting him full force. As he tried to process the sheer emotion that his past actions brought upon him, he started to cry. For once in his life, Jake realized the impact of his action, and for the first time in years he cried, and like that experience many years ago, he fell to the ground and wept.

Meanwhile, Devan was at his camp, still struggling to cope with the absence of Kathryn. Devan stared blankly at the barren ground, dumbfounded by Kathryn's sudden outburst. Devan was so shocked that even the simple task of thinking was a challenge. Finally, after a full hour of blankly staring into the distance, Devan went into his tent and noticed a familiar object, "Oh yeah, I still need to fight off the zombies," he said as he picked up his rifle. 

END