Just Your Normal Day Off

Jack was already having a crappy day before he fell off a thirty-foot cliff. Even before he woke up, he had a feeling his day was going to be as terrible as usual.

It started with the dream. Jack couldn't really recall it, but he remembered seeing an older version of himself. Same electric blue eyes, same slicked-back black hair, same determined look. He knew it couldn't be him. The man didn't have the l-shaped scar Jack wore ever so proudly on his left cheek. How he got the scar wasn't something to be proud of though and the one friend he had never let him live it down. For someone as athletic and big-headed as himself, Jack managed to somehow toss a javelin backward. Thinking back at it, he found it quite hilarious, but at the time he was rolling on the ground in both pain and absolute shame.

The man he saw didn't even have a trace of that deep wound, leading Jack to think it was the one man he'd always wanted to meet. Growing up with his single mother, Jack always had questions about his dad. His mom on the other hand seemed to never want to talk about him. Whenever Jack brought it up, she either completely changed the topic or just straight out ignored him. The one time she responded, she only said he was a great man and his death was quite unfortunate.

Searching the house for anything on his dad also proved to be fruitless. It was almost like his mom threw anything his dad may have owned in the house away to try and forget him. After flipping through her phone for relatives who might know anything, Jack concluded he might as well have been born like Jesus in the bible. Every single person he called either cut the call or pretended not to know anything. But Jack was no fool. Sooner or later his mother had to tell him something. He felt like he deserved that much.

As for the rest of the dream, Jack was blank. His dreams were always as vivid as the one he just had so he didn't dwell on it too much. But it didn't take away the feeling of impending doom building up in his chest. He managed to swallow it down with his short breakfast, but he was still a bit wary of his environment as he jogged to school.

As he approached the school gate, Jack mentally cursed himself. If his mom was home she would've reminded him school was out for the day. No doubt she left a note under his pillow or maybe on the kitchen table, but Jack was so lost in his own thoughts he didn't notice. He didn't even check his phone. Patting his pockets he realized he left it home as well.

"Bloody hell," he muttered, turning around.

He definitely wasn't heading back home. Other than the fact he would've been bored out of his mind, he wasn't ready to walk another twenty minutes under the scorching hot sun.

Grinning, Jack started walking away from the school, in the opposite direction he had come from. With school out, he could finally check out the dig site he'd had his eyes on for a couple of weeks now. Taking off once more, Jack tried to clear his head. He should've been elated that school was out, but his chest just felt even heavier than before. Suddenly, Jack wasn't sure heading towards the site was a good idea. Feeling a pang of panic, he slowed down, thoughtlessly bumping into an incoming person.

"Sorry," he muttered, coming to a complete stop.

"Are you okay?" a voice called out from behind him. Jack felt a hand on his shoulder. "You're shivering man. Need a hospital?"

Jack frowned, then it dawned on him that he was shaking violently. The terrible feeling in his chest kept building. Steadying himself, Jack nodded.

"I'm good." His voice was raspy and barely audible. Whatever this feeling was, Jack was scared. "I'll just keep going."

Without looking back, Jack broke off into a sprint, shaking his head. "The hell is going on," he said, clenching his teeth. As tense and panicky as he was, he managed to get all the way to the dig site without sending anyone flying.

Approaching the outskirts of the site, Jack began to ease into a light jog when he heard the same voice from before calling out.

"Hey, you good?" he yelled, running towards Jack.

Without thinking, Jack took off again. Why he did though, he had no idea. Every nerve in his body just told him to move.

A thug? Jack thought, vaulting over a small fence. The man didn't sound like a thug. If anything he just genuinely wanted to know what was wrong with Jack, but his senses said otherwise.

He dashed through the open ground, adrenaline fuelling his every movement. His thoughts were racing even faster. The feeling in his chest still hadn't subsided and a potential murderer was in close pursuit. Up ahead, Jack spotted a cliff. Towards the left, there seemed to be some sort of walkway. Jack was acting illogical, but he refused to stop running.

As he reached the sharp turn, Jack decided to glance back. The man chasing him wore a simple white tee and grey joggers. His shoes were dark red and looked somewhat worn out. His dark hair bounced on his face as he ran at full speed. This was no thug or criminal. The man was slender and had deep green eyes full of concern. Cursing himself, Jack stopped running.

"Wait," the man cried, trying to reach out to Jack. "Look out!"

At first, Jack lifted an eyebrow. With the distance between both of them, there was no way he was grabbing Jack. He was about to call out the man's stupidity when he realized he ran straight into open air.

He tried to scream, but his voice failed him. He could only watch as the man stupidly stuck his hands towards him, as he plummeted straight down to the rocks below.