【P】【a】【t】【h】【s】 [ᴊᴀᴋᴇ ꜱ. x ꜰ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ]

† 𝟙 † - 𝔸𝕣𝕣𝕚𝕧𝕒𝕝

When I was lying there in the VA     
  hospital, with a big hole blown
   through the middle of my life.

I started having these dreams of flying.
                 
         I was free.

Sooner or later, though, you always have to wake up.

.....
....
...
..
.

Jake's eyes flashed open, blinking rapidly a few times as he took a good look around.

Monitors beeping could be heard, as Jake's eyes focused on two little droplets, that looked like tears, just floating around in front of him as they joined together to create a bigger blob.

In cryo, you don't dream at all.

Jake floated up, as he continued his curious look around his pod, waiting for it to open up.

It doesn't feel like six years.

More like a fifth of tequila and an ass-kicking.

The pod whirred, opening up, lifting Jake up into the air as he was held down by restraints that kept him centered.

Tommy was the scientist, not me.

He was the one who wanted to get shot light-years out in space to find the answers.

A crew member floated over to Jake, grabbing the handle at the front of the pod, floating above him.

Jake took a quick look at him, "Are we there yet?" He asked in a hoarse voice.

The crew members grabbed his arm, checking it as Jake looked over at it for a split second. "Yeah, we're there, sunshine."

"We're there." He finished patting Jake's shoulder as he began floating away, attending other men and women.

"It's about your brother." Agent one spoke, as a coroner dressed in a hazmat suit revealed, Tommy, Jake's twin brother.

So, a week before Tommy's gonna ship out, a guy with a gun ends his journey. For the paper in his wallet.

The cardboard casket closed as the two agents stood around, Jake looking down at the box in sadness.

"Your brother represented a significant investment. We'd like to talk to you about taking over his contract." Agent two spoke out, as the coroner rolled the box into the incinerator.

"And since your genome is identical to his, you could  step into his shoes..
" Agent one spoke, obviously trying bait him as he saw the state of his legs.

He realized what he said as the two agents, shared a look. "..So to speak."

"It'd be a fresh start on a new world."