After the others had left to get more help, Johnston was here trying to keep his eldest son awake which was proving to be difficult, "Come on Jake keep your eyes open!" he tells his son whose eyes were drifting.
"Dad…I can see her" Jake whispers quietly; Johnston looks down at his son whose lips were blue, his face as nearly as white as the snow falling traitorously from the sky.
"See who?" Johnston continues to look down at his son who was normally so strong but was now extremely fragile; Jake slowly looks over to his dad "the girl" he murmurs.
"What girl…Jake Son I think you're hallucinating, just try to stay awake for me alright" Johnston shakes his son and pulls the blankets tighter around him.
"When I was in Iraq, there was a girl. She couldn't have been more than ten or twelve…" Jake chokes out tears threatening to fall. Johnston quiets his son and holds him closer to his chest.
"Don't talk now son, just save your energy and we'll talk when we get home".
Jake frowns "I killed her dad" Jake whispers as tear slips down his face. Johnston screws his eyes shut for a second before looking back at Jake trying not to let his tears fall.
"I killed a little girl…I'm so sorry for everything, you have to believe me dad" Jake cries softly.
Johnson brought his gloved hand up brushing Jake's cold cheek softly. Jake flinches a few times before falling still unbeknownst to Johnston, who got distracted by the sound of a car coming around the bend of the road.
Johnston pulls out his gun and keeping it trained on the car until he saw the lights flash a few times. He sighs in relief and stands up, holstering his weapon.
Johnston waves a hand and yells out "hurry up" as his wife and youngest son got out of the cars and started to run over.
"Jake" Gail coos as she gets out of her car in relief, which soon turns to terror when she gets closer to her sons pale and unmoving body.
"Jake!" Gail cries out as she crouches down by her son.
"Jake, please, open your eyes! Jake c'mon Jake, open your eyes for me please" Gail mutters hysterically at Jake when he makes no movement or sign of life.
"Jake!" she shouts as Eric and Johnston crouch down beside her and Jake, Johnston shakes his son "Jakey please, C'mon son just wake up!" he cries trying to wake his son but to no avail.
Eric sits frozen as his parents, and fellow townsmen tried to wake Jake up, but he knew that Jake wouldn't be waking up again.
Tears started to stream down his face; he didn't take notice of the other men who lift the car off of his brother's leg. He just kept staring at his brothers pale and lifeless face.
Johnston feels his son's neck for a pulse and his heart stops when he can't find one.
"No, no, no, no! Please wake up! We only just got you back Jake C'mon son please!" Johnston shouts shaking Jake's body begging and pleading before he collapses on his sons still chest.
Gail was screaming and crying as she's pulled away from her child's body and taken back to the car.
Stanley chokes on his sobs as he looks down at his best friend who he had only held in his arms keeping him warm and alive about twenty minutes earlier.
Eric slowly gets the courage to move over to his father and brother gently taking a blanket in his shaky hands and covering his brothers body with it.
He sobs as he looks at his now broken family, there was no way they would be able to get passed this, not after just getting Jake back after five years to then lose him like this.
There was no way Jericho will be able to hold itself together, as they had since the bombs either.
Jake was what held them together. What gave them hope that they will be able to get passed the bombings, and now that spark of hope Jake lit in people's hearts went out the moment Jake's heart stopped beating.