Michael Robertson - New Reality - Truth

The inscription.

Jake opened his mouth to speak but was too choked. Drawing several breaths, he shook his head and lifted his fringe from his glasses. He finally said, “Happy birthday, mate.”

Staring at Tom for a minute longer, he then dropped his shoulders and turned his back on him forever.

As she watched Jake walk away, body slumped, feet dragging, she tried to ignore the feeling of her brothers and sisters around her. It was against the rules to even look at one another, but that didn’t mean someone wasn’t doing it. Did they know she’d let Jake live for as long as she had? If there was a checklist for termination, Jake would have ticked every box several times already. She should have ended him by now.

Holding her hands as if in prayer, she tapped the tips of her fingers together and watched him move on. If she could protect him until he got out of the city, then no one would need to know that she should have terminated him. There was hope for Jake yet. He just needed to hurry the hell up.

The wind continued to flick the strip of material on Rory’s wrist. The Aston Villa logo was still on show. Even in his current state, the boy still waved his colors with pride—a shared love of a football team between father and son. Weekends in the stadium. The highs, the lows, the bonding. The claret and blue now faded to almost grey. Jake sighed. The memories had faded with them.

Both of Jake’s knees popped like snapping twigs when he squatted down next to Rory. The sensation was nothing unusual. How long would it be before his damaged body refused to get back up again?

Drawing a deep breath, Jake pushed into the top of Rory’s right arm with his left hand. The fat on the kid’s bicep squeezed through Jake’s fingers, but Rory didn’t budge.

After two deep breaths, Jake clenched his teeth and pushed again. With a shaking arm, he tried to ignore the throb in both his damaged right hand and his eyeballs. Stars swam in his vision. When his head started spinning, Jake yielded, falling back onto his ass as he panted from the effort.

Once he’d recovered, Jake stared at the boy. “I’m sorry, Rory, I can’t flip you over. If Tom were here, then we’d be able to do it, but…” he looked down at the bloody bandage on his right hand and his starved body. “I struggle to lift my own weight now.” Exhaustion ran through his veins like tar. Hunger ate him away from the inside. His saliva had turned into a thick and dusty paste in his throat.

The second headset was exactly where he’d left it, lying next to Rory and rocking in the wind. For an item that had caused more devastation to the human race than any other invention before it, it seemed so innocuous. It had spread throughout the world without prejudice like a virus. What was Rixon’s end goal? What would they do when everyone was dead? How do you manipulate a society with no people? Looking up at the glow on the horizon, he shook his head and lifted his lip in a sneer. Tom was right, there were people left in the tower. There had to be.

But what good would it do to think about that now?

After studying Rory’s obese form, Jake closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I didn’t tell your dad about you, Rory. I’m sorry, but with his hip and my hand, there was no way of getting him to you. I figured that if he didn’t know you were here, then he could move on without guilt. If I’d told him, then he’d have refused to put the headset on and died dragging himself to you. I didn’t want that to happen.” Snorting an ironic laugh, Jake shook his head.

Grunting as he fought for breath, Rory’s huge chin wobbled.

Once he’d leveled out and fallen back into his pattern of labored respiration, Jake continued. “I didn’t want his last thoughts to be tormented by the fact that you were so close but totally unreachable.”

More deep breaths did nothing for the pain in Jake’s heart. “Besides, even if we had managed to get to you, we couldn’t get that bloody thing off your head anyway.” Leaning forward and touching his cold arm, Jake spoke slower. “I hope you understand.”

With tears blurring his vision, Jake’s voice cracked. “He said he was going to have dinner with you and your mum in Disney World. That was his plan anyway.”

The pain of standing up tore through Jake, and fresh tears slid down his face. Watching Rory’s heavy chest rise and fall, Jake allowed the grief to flow out of him. “Whatever’s been following us killed him, Rory.” Glancing over his shoulder, Jake looked back down at the boy. “I swear to you, if it’s the last thing I do, I’ll avenge your father’s death.”

When he was done, he swallowed the burning lump in his throat. “Your dad was a good man. He’s the reason I’m still alive. In those early days, when I felt like I couldn’t go on, I looked at him and his unwavering determination to get to you. His purpose became my purpose, and it gave me hope—a reason to carry on. His determination to get to you was so fierce it took a broken hip to stop him.”

Drawing a stuttered sigh, Jake looked away from the boy. “He saved my life too. A huge chasm opened up in the floor and I couldn’t walk. Instead of running to save himself, he came back for me.” Laughing through his tears, Jake said, “It was nuts. I thought I was done for, and then your dad put a wobbly plank over an ever-increasing gap and walked across it. He was lucky he didn’t fall. I owe him my life, Rory. I didn’t know him before all of this bullshit happened, but I can honestly…” Grief choked him. “I can honestly say he’s the best friend I’ve ever had.”

After rocking in the wind for a few seconds, he turned his attention back to Rory. “I also wanted to thank you. Seeing you here has made me realize that I will find what I’m looking for. Your dad wanted to give up, and you were waiting around the next corner. It’s taught me never to do the same.” Looking up at the tower, he raised his voice. “Rixon want us to believe that they have control of everything, but they don’t! I just have to be persistent if I’m going to beat them.”

Crouching down, he patted the boy’s fat arm. Ripples rolled away from the point of impact. “Sweet dreams, son. Take care.”

Standing up again, he turned his back on Rory, dipped his head against the oncoming wind, and strode off with more purpose than he’d felt in a long time. Nature would win out. Things would change.

Leaning back, she let the tension of the last few weeks run out of her shoulders. This was it, the start of Jake’s new life without Tom. It wouldn’t be long and he’d be out of Birmingham. The city was the last thing Jake needed to be free of before he could move on, and she could stop watching him.

As Jake walked, she could see the determination in his stride. Sure, he’d lost his best friend, but his purpose had been revitalized. Everything was going to work out.

Throwing glances over each shoulder at those surrounding her, she saw no one was watching. She was going to get away with not killing him.

Seeing Rory had given Jake hope. What he was searching for was out there. All he could do about Tom now was learn from him. While gritting his teeth, he let his new mantra spin through his mind. Never give up. Never give up. Never give up. Never give up.

The mental pep talk helped Jake move with greater ease. The infection that had a hold of his right arm was receding. His joints moved with fluidity. A little too confident in his miraculous healing, he clenched his right fist. The burn made his stomach lurch and his head spin. Maybe that was a step too far.