Page 19 of Jake

I swear to fucking God, if that incessant beeping doesn’t stop, I’m gonna break someone’s fucking head.

I was in a bed, but why was my mattress so hard all of a sudden? It felt like I was lying on a wooden board, and I was in pain. Fuck, so much pain.

What the…? Why am I feeling pain in fucking Hell?

There was no chance, after everything my family and I had done while on earth, that I’d be in Heaven.

“Jake, open your eyes.”

Why is Barry here telling me to open my eyes?

“Jake. Open your goddamn fucking eyes.”

That’s Connor. Why is he here with me? Fuck, how did he end up dead?

“JAKE!”

I’d recognise that shout anywhere; Quinn was pissed about something. How the fuck did we all end up dead? Time to find out, I guess.

I peeled my left eye open before immediately slamming it shut again. Some arsehole had tried burning the eyeball from my head with a bright light.

“Doc.”

That was Connor.

“How is he, Barry?”

Dad? What the fuck’s going on? I need some answers. And why won’t someone shut off that fucking beeping?

Someone peeled back an eyelid and shone a light in my eye. Fucking great! They were determined to send me blind. I attempted to lift one arm to bat the hand away, but it felt like a lead weight.

I shook my head, hoping the eyelid would be released. Big mistake! My head felt like someone had thrown me headfirst into a brick wall. Pain exploded in every cell and slowly but surely, crept over every inch of my body.

“Fuck the hell off!” I roared.

Quinn laughed. “There’s our Jake. Welcome back, big brother.”

I tried again to open my eyes, but the light burned like a motherfucker.

“Light,” I murmured.

“Turn the lights down, nurse,” Barry ordered.

A moment or two passed before Barry spoke again. “Okay, try now.”

This time, when I opened my eyes, the light was subdued and didn’t burn.

“Where am I?”

“In the hospital in Rabaul,” Barry answered.

“Oh, my baby, you’re back.”

I turned my head slightly to see my mother, her swollen, red eyes peering down.

“Did I go somewhere?” I asked as Dad stepped up behind her. “What happened?”

“You don’t remember?” Connor stood beside Mum, and Quinn was off to one side.