Chapter 37 Injury Reserve

As Jake passed out, he was plunged into a wonderful dream. He was 6 years old in the dream, and he was in the park. But it wasn't the park in the slums. There was lush green grass everywhere, not a bit of concrete in sight. When he looked around, he saw families playing and laughing. He saw couples having picnics and animals running with reckless abandon. It was a glorious sight to behold, but it was so familiar, as if he had lived this moment and time more than once. And he did. This wasn't a new experience; this wasn't any simple dream but a memory. He remembered coming here with his mother when he was just a boy. The Rosalie Park, that was in the mainland of Gardenia. It had been so long, he had forgotten, but now, plain as day, he was reliving this experience.

The young Jake continued looking around. He not only could see but feel. He felt the sun warmly touching his skin, he could feel the green grass tickle his feet through his flip-flops, and he felt the warm holding of his hand. The last this little Jake looked at was his mother. He looked up at the woman as they walked deeper into the park. She was wearing her nicest clothes, her sundress with blue floral patterns, her gold-colored sandals, and her sun hat that sat on top of her head as her long golden hair began to blow in the wind. His mother looked down at her child. She smiled a warm smile at him, and her son couldn't help himself and smiled back. This was a good memory, a core memory.

However, something happened that wasn't a part of his memory. After Jake's mother had smiled at him, she started to keel over and fall to the ground. Jake was shocked. The little boy was worried. He screamed out, "Mom!" as he tried to shake her, but the woman didn't respond. The boy started to panic; tears fell down his face as he became more manic. Jake then screamed, "Help! Help! My mom needs help!" He turned around screaming at the other occupants in the park, but no matter how hard he screamed, none looked his way. He kept screaming, looking for someone, anyone, until his eyes landed on something, something that wasn't there before, something that also wasn't a part of his memory.

Far in the distance, standing in between laughing families, was a figure, a figure covered in black. They seemed to be wearing a hoodie, but Jake couldn't see their face, but he saw their lips as it moved. Their mouth moved, they spoke, but Jake couldn't hear what they said, but he understood somehow what they were saying. They were telling him to wake up, and they kept saying it. Jake, not able to hear a thing but understanding each time what the figure covered in black was saying, he started to get scared, and he became more frightened as the black that was on the figure began to spread, as if it was a virus.

Darkness began spreading out quickly throughout the park, enveloping all that were in the park. The darkness started to make its way to Jake. He turned tail and ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction. The darkness was hot on his tails, though. As Jake ran, he turned his head and saw that the darkness had consumed everything and everyone. The people, the animals, the trees, all of it was gone, consumed by black. Even his mother was now gone.

The young Jake ran as hard as his little legs could let him, but eventually, the darkness caught him too. It first caught his right leg, then it started to spread all over his body. As the black oozing darkness started to envelop him, Jake saw the figure once more, far in the distance. Even in his position, he could still see its lips move, but now he could hear the words that it was saying. But somehow, he could hear it clear as day in his own head. He heard a loud "Wake up!" and at that very moment, Jake Green gasped awake.

Jake shot up, gasping for air, being violently snatched out of his dream, or more like a nightmare. The abrasive movement made something crash. As he woke up, he heard the sound, looked around, then gazed downward. There was a woman there. No, it wasn't just a woman, it was a nurse. She had fallen, dropping medical supplies that she was carrying.

"Geez Louise," the nurse said as she rubbed her backside, "don't scare me like that."

Jake looked at the nurse, puzzled, then he managed to get a, "I'm... sorry."

Jake started to look around at his environment, and he noticed he wasn't anywhere familiar. He was in a large room full of gurneys, and on each gurney was a person, some conscious, others not, many broken down and injured. These were other applicants.

"Where am I?" Jake asked the nurse on the ground as she stood up, gathering her supplies and still rubbing her sore butt.

She answered… "Applicant 1267, Jake Sullivan. You passed out after exiting the maze, so you were brought here to the infirmary," the nurse eventually stopped rubbing her butt, then placed her supplies on Jake's gurney. She took her hand and felt his forehead. "So, how do you feel?"

"I… feel fine, just had a bad dream."

"You must have overexerted yourself during the first phase. Be sure to be careful in the future." The nurse stopped feeling Jake's forehead. She gathered her supplies as she said, "You seem okay enough to continue. You can make your way back to the auditorium. The second phase will begin soon." As she turned to walk away, she said, "Oh," then turned back around. "And make sure to grab something to drink. Remember to stay hydrated, but no soda, juice, or energy drinks. Just water or sports drinks."

The nurse flashed Jake a smile as she started once again to leave him, but she was stopped once again; however, this time it was by Jake himself.

"Wait, my sword. Where's my sword?"

When the nurse turned around, her face was all scrunched up. "What do you mean, 'where'?" she said, as if Jake had asked a question with an obvious answer. "It's right there in your hands."

Jake quickly looked down to his right hand, and she was correct. Right there in his hands was the katana. His grip was locked around it. "Jake hadn't noticed he was holding it."

"When we recovered you, no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't get you to let go. So, we stopped trying."

The nurse was soon called away by another nurse needing assistance, and Jake sat there, lost in thought. But soon, he too was called by a familiar voice.

"Hey, so you're finally awake."

Jake heard this voice from behind him. When he turned around, he was honestly shocked at who he saw. He saw Zack, smiling, upright, walking with zero problem. He was scuffed up a bit, his head and arms were wrapped in bandages, but with his demeanor, he seemed good as new.

"What's going on, sleeping beauty?"

Zack walked closer, and Jake's throat began to tighten. The last time he saw him, in the statue, he was in… Jake thought he never wouldn't see Zack ever again, but here he was, in the flesh. A small bead of sweat fell down his face. Jake's eyes went a bit wide, his heart started to beat faster. This feeling that was surrounding him, it had to be the feeling of guilt. The closer Zack got; the more Jake felt this feeling. When Zack was towering over Jake, sitting on his gurney, he felt a sinking feeling of dread.

"This was it," he thought. "Zack would get his retribution for being abandoned."

Jake had known from growing up in the slums that those who betrayed their own were punished severely.

"But he's not my own," Jake thought. "We don't know each other. We're not friends. He shouldn't have any reason to be angry."

The logic Jake tried to tell himself wasn't working. With Zack over him, he was almost pissing nervous. He waited for Zack to make his move, and he did. Quickly, Zack moved his left hand. Jake couldn't help but flinch; he was expecting the worst. But it never came. When he looked back at Zack, all he saw was Zack holding his left hand up for a high five.

"Congratulations, man, on passing the first phase."