THREE

Dear Anyone,

       If you are reading this, thank goodness you are alive. My name is Jake Rowan Sacrifyce. Yes I think that my last name is ironic, too. I am twenty years old, I think. It has been a year since the return. I do not know what the date is; all I know is that it has been 375 days since the first Returned sighting. I have been counting the days. I am going to Vancouver to check on the condition of my parents. I don’t know if they are alive but until I get there, I have hope. It may be foolish but I was told of another Sanctuary in Vancouver and that residents of nearby Washington towns, were evacuated there. I will be stopping in Salem and Seattle to rest before continuing on. If you are able to make it, I would hope for some human contact. I have a dog, Hielo. He is a Doberman. This should be a sign if you see me walking along a road, don’t shoot.

       Tip for the Road: The weather is often unpredictable in Washington, so it is wise not to stay out too long. No use getting sick now. In a way the rain can be good and bad. Good because it can Down a Returned. Bad because it can Down a whole hoard of Returned, which you can then trigger and have come after you. No matter how good you are, never attempt to take on a hoard of returns.

Because of this weather I am leaving this letter in a plastic bag. This should keep it from getting too weather damaged. This should also be an indicator that this is new and not from before the return.

       I wish you safe travel and if you can make it, meet me in Vancouver.

Sincerely,

Jake Rowan Sacrifyce

Day 375.

 

            Jake folded the paper up and stuffed it into an envelope. She sealed the envelope and wrote ‘READ ME’ in big bold letters on the front. She slid the envelope into a plastic baggie and tore off a big piece of silver duct tape. Since the convenience store was the first thing you saw when you entered the town and the doors were smashed in, it seemed like a pretty good place to put the letter up. She checked the streets again and jumped out of the truck one last time. She sprinted to the store, smacked the letter up on the front window and got back in the car. Surprisingly the tank was ¾ full. She thought she could at least make it to the next town before she had to switch out cars. Thinking to herself, she really should have learned how to hot wire cars.

            Jake turned the key in the ignition drove out of the desolate old town. On her way out she noticed a couple of returned, wandering around in an alley. Strange, why didn’t they sense her? Ignoring it she pulled out her iPod. It was one of the few things she had actually saved and kept with her since the return. Electricity wasn’t completely dead, she didn’t understand how just that it wasn’t. She put in her ear buds and turned on the music.

            The drive was going to take awhile; she knew that from all the visits to her parents during break. Vancouver was even farther away than Seattle. She hoped that her trip wouldn’t be pointless but as she got closer and closer to the town, her hope dropped into her stomach. Her parents weren’t old but they weren’t exactly young either. She had no idea how quickly the Sanctuary in Vancouver had been made and how quickly residents had been evacuated into it. Jake knew that the Sanctuary she had lived in had taken two months to complete. Two months to survive on her own. Deep down she knew her mother wouldn’t have survived two months but she wanted to hope.

            Flat fields she passed were spotted with Returned. Nothing the size of a hoard, but enough to be a little worrisome. She kept driving. Salem came and went without a word. She didn’t want to stop. It was getting late and the number of returned, only seemed to be increasing. Hielo was on alert and they passed by numerous abandoned buildings and houses. Everything seemed to be creepier at night. She thought if she kept this up, she could make it to Seattle in no time. The thought seemed to fuel her fire, pressing on the gas she sped up.

            Jake, keeping her eyes on the road, reached around and grabbed a bottle of soda. Holding it up to the wheel, she tried to twist the cap off. Once she got it off, she took a long gulp. She hadn’t had soda in a long time. The carbonation burned her throat but she didn’t care. The hard sugary taste made her teeth feel raw. Crisp syrupy taste swirled around in her mouth.

            “Yum,” she mumbled to herself. She screwed the cap back on and put it in the cup holder. Feeling herself shiver, she twisted the knob to the heat and waited for it to kick on. Within minutes she was sitting in toasty warmth. It filled the cab of the truck, fogging up the side windows.

            As they got outside city limits, Hielo calmed down and curled up in the passenger seat. His breathing slowed and soon he was asleep. Jake was jealous of how easily peace came to her companion. Even in sleep she was haunted by her and Richard’s final days.  

            “Richard please don’t go,” she begged. She reached out and took his hand. He was standing in her dorm room. Out of place, his baggy jeans and Bullets for My Valentine shirt didn’t seem to fit in the splatter painted room. He was about an inch taller than her. His usually close cropped black hair was getting shaggy, poking out in every direction.

            “I have to. You know my grandma. She can’t handle things on her own. I called her a couple days ago and told her to pack some things. I’m going to bring her here. I promise you I will be back in at least two days.” He said reassuringly. She gave him a small smile.

            “Fine. Only because you promised.” She laughed. Richard laughed and reached out a long, thin hand. His hand was frozen as it touched the side of her face. Shivering just a little she leaned into the familiar gesture. “You better be back in two days. Otherwise, I will never forgive you.” She said jokingly.

            “Then you better give me three days.” He laughed. He leaned forward, their foreheads almost touching. She smiled. Richard had been her best friend since elementary school. Some time in high school, they had become more than friends. They had gone to homecoming and prom together. When they both got accepted to the same college, it was like a dream come true.

            His arms wound their way around her, giving her a sense of security. A small smile playing at his lips, they kissed good-bye. Backing up, he grabbed his small suitcase.

            “Two days.” She said.

            “Two days. I promise.” He said. Giving her one last hug good-bye, he picked up his bag and walked out of the small dorm room.  

~

            Tears rolled down her cheeks as she drove. The road became a blur of lines. That day, as she watched him drive out the gates of the Sanctuary, she had been terrified of never seeing him again. The next day her fears subsided only slightly. The second day she woke up excited. She got dressed quickly and went to wait by the gate for him. The third day, she was less than worried. He had joked about being given three days to get back. Maybe he was serious. A week later she couldn’t take the pitying looks given to her by everybody she knew. She packed her own bag and left.

            “And now I’m here.” Jake sighed. She mopped at the stream of tears with the back of her hand, to no avail. The tears kept bucketing down her face, she couldn’t control it. Richard Demarco was the one person she could talk to. She was almost positive that he was dead or returned. There was nothing she could do about it. She didn’t even know if she would be able to shoot him if she ever came across him. Physically she knew she could. Mentally she didn’t think so. She was almost sure that she’d loved him.

Reviews

[CrimsonBlaze]

Hypothesis proven right. The two fit perfeclty together..
i agree with Casquatch the name ia unqiue and you dont see any normal girl walking around with the name Jake. That just shows me shes special...reaaaallly special X3

[Sylvana]

A girl named Jake, I like that. I find names to be genderless and you proved it right.