Never has Jacob seen so much blood. Especially from his own body. He hangs from his feet in a small, humid room, whip lashes sting his back. His whole body dripping in blood. He's not clueless exactly. For sure, he knows who's responsible for this savage thrashing. Jacob Smith (aka Smith), the school cleaner. Smith's the one who locked him in a bathroom, kidnapped him and took him to this anonymous area. He looks around and sees, once again, he's locked...
Jacob hazily wakes up, just to see Smith standing in front of him. He tries to jump and run away, causing the chain holding him from the ceiling to break and drop him on the concrete floor. This shocks Smith and he launches himself onto Jacob to keep him pinned on the ground.
" No," Jacob cries.
" What have I ever done to you!?" He breathlessly says.
" Do you know how much I get paid for my job? All the times I get bossed around by who, that's right, your Dad." Smith explains to Jacob what he obviously forgot.
Smith bends down and whispers in Jacob's ear " I decided I can't murder a man, so I guess all my options are is," He pauses. "you." Smith pushes off Jacob and walks out of the room, not forgetting to lock the door behind him.
Jacob lies on the ground, no movement at all. He tries to think through what Smith told him. He's too young to die. He needs to escape. Those words linger in his head for the several hours he spends on the ground. How long has he been here? What is happening back home? Are they looking for him? Those questions can't be answered but he is determined to find a way out. As Jacob examines the small room, he spots a window hiding behind some boxes. Realising that this is most likely his only chance of escape, he heaves himself up. Hobbling to the window, he crawls through and steps out to smell the fresh air of a forest.
"That was easy." He says. Jacob is one to take self pride in every good action he does. Sometimes he can be a bit cocky because he doesn't think about the fact that he now has to navigate his way to complete survival. Once Smith sees that Jacob's gone, it is certain he will come looking for him.
Jacob's not prepared, he has; no shirt, ripped shorts (which call for cold nights), his hair looks brown because of all the dirt it's collected (this is not acceptable for Jacob), the chains are still attached to his legs and he has no food. This calls for serious skills from Man vs. Wild and The Hunger Games. Nevertheless, Jacob starts his trek through the forest. He assumes that if he just walks straight he will end up at the end of the forest.
It has been 1 day and Jacob is so fragile he just wants Smith to come and take him away. He has completely lost hope and doesn't have an ounce of energy left to move. A ladybug lands on Jacob's shoulder. He stares at it for a moment then in a swish move he eats it. " Gross. That was not a smart move." He says, screwing up his face in disgust. Ladybugs must be some source of protein because Jacob feels as if he can continue his journey to the end of the forest. He gets up, feeling good but dives back to the ground. He hears rustling. It's getting louder. No, it's not one person. He hears 1, 2 no 3 pairs of feet tramping towards him. Out sticks a head of a young boy. He then calls the others to come look at Jacob curdled into a ball. First thing they notice is the lashes on his back.
" Hey, dude. We're not going to hurt you. Actually I think we're running for the same reason." Says the boy.
Jacob looks up and sees all 3 boys looking exactly like him; shirtless, blood filled bodies and the same whip lashes cover their backs. Jacob relaxes his body, his heart still thumping but it seems that they are in the same position as him. He gets up off the ground and they introduce themselves. Daniel, Luke and Jack have been running from Smith too. They also have the idea to keep walking to the edge of the forest. By the look of the bags they are carrying, Jacob has found the right people to meet up with. They have food. Heaps of food. After a bag of chips, the 4 boys together walk to conquer survival.
Clouds are gathering overhead and thunder starts, so do the sound of cars. The boys have walked for days, finishing all the food. They have made it to the edge of the forest. Jack sprints to the opening. He screams and suddenly flings back over the top of Jacob's head. They haven't concurred survival. Not even close. They're just starting.
