Another day, another chance [David/Jeremiah]

[Jocelyn M. Q.]

Costume box in hand Jocelyn was excited to find out what the new theme for dance was going to be. As she headed towards the locker rooms she passed by crowds of people getting ready to head home on that Friday afternoon. The box in her hand now dented from her fingers didn't wiggle at all as she walked. Her messenger bag hit the side of her flared jeans with every step, and readjusted the material of her loose, flowing, flowery tan hippie shirt.

Passing by her locker, the place where she first met Victor, Tash, and Gabriel she smiled a little remembering the beginning of her week. It seemed it was much easier to meet people at this new school. Everyone was much friendlier. As she continued walking she began looking up at the sky and the little puffs of clouds that floated by, then a few leaves began to obstruct her view. Looking forward again she was a foot away from the bark of a tree. PHEW! That was a close one

Almost having run into a tree Jocelyn figured she should keep her eyes looking straight ahead. But the sky looked too clear and beautiful to not watch. To be safe she veered off to the patch of grass in the middle of the school, set her box down, and sat. Looking up at the sky she laid back and admired the colors. The warmth of the sun hit her face and warmed the top her as the cool of the grass opposed underneath.

It was a very nice day indeed.

[Jeremiah Sykes]

The wind was a ceaseless beauty, a warmth of touch and feeling. It flew passed his head in a torrent, the small fall seemingly taking forever. His clothes were tattered, torn, a bloody mess of leather and cloth. His eyes were open wide, not in fright, but in wonder, the small puffs of cloud and sky reminding him of home. He couldn't help but look back and wonder what led him to the path he currently stood upon. It was a slight suggestion of thought and determination. His parents never thought to bring up a child like him yet his own mentality could not have led to a different road. He fell into eternity, his eyes closing in a blink. The ground seemed to hurtle closer as the ten boys above him looked down with broad grins. They had defeated the mighty behemoth.

Jeremiah wanted it.

He wanted an ending to the ridicule and the stares, the challenges and the fright. He spent most of his life away from home in constant states of paranoid, feverish adrenaline and blood. He last track of the number of lives he had brutalized, the looks of fear in peoples eyes. The girl, Sara- he remembered her face when he almost disfigured her. He could remember the blood on his hands after destroying Jack Bemilia. He wanted it all to go away. It wasn't like his own personal agenda or history was any different then the next- he was a victim as much as he was a bad guy. But the times he hurt seemed to stand out the most in his mind. He deserved this, he knew, yet a small part of him also felt that he deserved better.

Why was he still here? There must be a reason behind that logic, right? If he was doomed to an existance of destruction then why continue the suffering? Let him die and send his soul to hell. But they didn't- nobody did. He had yet to die, to feel the calm enveloping touch of death. Why? He searched for an answer that may take a lifetime, the seconds he hung in the air seeming a lifetime as everything ran together in a sudden electric shock. He thought for so long though the stories he fell from closed the gap to the ground in moments. He sighed, then understood.

He survived because he had to. For her memory, if nothing else. He always survived no matter the situation- he had been in worst spots then this. He was unafraid, and angry. These children thought to take him before his time was due- why? Because he was bigger than most? He just wanted to be left alone, to live his life until the moment of truth had passed.

His eyes flew open.

He flipped backwards in the air, snatching a hand out to grasp the fire escape and slide the final few feet to the ground. He landed gruffly, stumbling forward a few steps before placing his hands on his knees and breathing heavily.

That was too close.

He looked up to see the shouting, then watched as more faces appeared, all of them part of the group who had attacked him.

"Fell Lucky big guy, we'll find you later, you know that!"

'Yeah i look forward to it.'

Then he walked away from them, disappearing from thier sight into the trees of the large school courtyard. He passed by one, not noticing the girl who sat there as he fell forward, collapsing into sleep, the cuts and wounds on his chest and face bleeding his life into the cold ground.

'I...must live.'

Then all was silence.

[Jocelyn M. Q.]

Laying on the cool grass Jocelyn's view of the clouds was obstructed suddenly by...she didn't know what. It fell and hit the ground beside her. She thought it looked like a face...an extremely tattered face. Reluctantly she looked over to the thud and saw a bloodied body laying still in the grass. The metallic smell of blood wafted into her nose as panic began to flood her body. Looking around quickly to see if anyone was around to help Jocelyn was out of luck. It was so late after school everyone had left.

Now overflowing with panic and fear she began to feel light headed as she reached into her messenger bag clumsily and pulled out her phone. Her fingers began to swell in her mind as the world around her was spinning. She tried to push in the numbers 9-1-1 and couldn't find the strength to move her fingers. The ground was moving under her as she looked back at the body. Quickly snapping her head back to her phone and it took her two tries to type the number in.

As the phone rang she watched the body for any signs of movement or life. There was a slight raising of the neck, a sign of breathing, and the muscles in his legs and shoulders were still slightly tensed, a sign of blood flow. There might still be hope.

The operator on the other line picked up the phone and spoke in a cool calm voice,"9-1-1 What is your emergency?""I...I don't know who he is, but there's a person at my school...he's...he just...he passed out or something on the grass...he was just...and he's bloody…and I don't...and he's...""Calm down miss. Just hold on. We're locating you now, and sending an ambulance. Tell me, does he have a pulse? Place two fingers to the side of his neck just below his jaw line, press down firmly and wait for a movement"

Jocelyn knew he did have a pulse, but checked anyways, mindlessly following directions. Leaning over to the body she put her little warm fingers to the side of his neck. She wasn't sure if he was conscious enough to move or passed out. Either way she was afraid of him waking suddenly and attacking her for some reason. As she checked the pulse against his feverishly warm neck, the operator spoke again,"Miss? Are you still on the line?"

Jocelyn began to feel woozy again but replied to him quickly, "Yes, yes. I'm here...he...yes he has a pulse...he's...really hot too...is that normal? What do I do? Should I try to wake him. He's bleeding everywhere! And I...I..."

The operator cut her off again,"Don't panic Miss. It's very important that you stay calm. Because of his loss of blood it's also important that you try to...". Her phone cut off as it began to power down.

Panic flooded her once again. She ran over to the body.What do I do? What do I DOOO?!CPR? No…he's breathing...Oh my gosh. What do I do?! Running up to the body she wasn't sure if she should flip him over to put his head up or not. She tried to anyways.

He was extremely heavy and dense, her not so strong body wasn't helping at all. She began to get blood all over her and the woozy feeling returned. Instead of turning him over she tried moving his head so it was to the side. She began talking to him and hoped it would comfort not only him but herself.

"Uhm...don't worry. I called 9-1-1. They should be here soon. I'm not really sure what to do...but just hang in there...whatever you do...just hang in there."