Jay had known Alex since they were kids. It wasn't the most likely of friendships, Jay being the scrawny, shrimp of a child, and Alex the tall, loud boy who wasn't afraid to start fights on the playground. But it worked, in its own way. Jay would watch Alex jump off the swings and Alex would help Jay find bugs in the bushes. Alex would stop the other kids from picking on Jay, and Jay would help Alex with his times tables. They worked with each other. High school had been similar, Alex growing increasingly popular and Jay tagging along for the ride, keeping his head down and muddling through the work. Alex brought him to parties at the houses of people he had never heard of, the popular crowd that he had someone worked his way into, with his charm and ego, glaring at anyone who looked at Jay like he didn't belong. It was natural that they would both go to the same college, of course it was, both wanted to work behind the camera, after all. Alex continued to protect Jay and, in his own way, Jay protected Alex. Muttered apologies of "Sorry, sorry, he's just like this, it's not you…" or "He's under a lot of stress with this deadline, but I'll talk to him…" from Jay to those left in the wake of Alex's increasingly erratic behaviour. Jay knew Alex, knew how to work with him. Alex listened to Jay. So it was surprising to Jay, in the way unthinkable things are, when Alex simply shot him.
Jay would have been ready to dismiss the idea that it had happened altogether in the span of a few seconds. His ears were ringing, and he might have been speaking, he wasn't sure. Alex had pointed a gun at him. That had happened before, if the tapes were right. But he hadn't shot him. That couldn't have happened. He hadn't even said anything. That wasn't Alex, not his grandiose style at all. Jay found himself lurching back involuntarily, camera still in hand. The flashlight clattered to the floor, his fingers clutching at his abdomen, limbs moving on their own accord in another involuntary spasm. His body registered the damage, and he found himself stumbling into the nearest room before a coherent reason crossed his mind. Alex had shot him.
Jay slammed the door shut, using the weight of his body to do so. Sliding down to a sitting position in front of it, Jay finally took the time to look down. The amount of blood that had already seeped through his shirt front was alarming. Each frantic heartbeat made the stain spread. His left hand, still clutching the wound, was covered in blood, failing miserably at keeping any of it in. The camera was still recording, of course. Jay hadn't dropped it. Jay wondered vaguely if Tim or Alex would find it first. The sounds on the other side of the door, the pounding of fists on the wood above him, told him that Alex would. Alex had found him first, so it was fitting that he would find him last. Jay grinned at the irony, rubbing his bloody fingers together. The pain was setting in.
Sharp. That was the only word coming to mind for Jay, to describe the sensation. Sharp and blindingly hot. Squeezing his eyes shut only served to trap the pain in, building up behind his eyelids and forcing the tears out. His ears were still ringing, but Jay could hear himself whimpering. Sharp. His hands were warm and he knew exactly why. Sharp. Another thud on the door above him. His body was stopping Alex from opening the door. Sharp. There was blood on his tongue, trickling out from between his gasping lips. Jay didn't want to open his eyes.
The ringing stopped so suddenly that Jay almost opened his eyes. Almost. He knew why it had stopped, he could feel it in the room with him. Everything else had ceased to move, Alex on the other side of the door, the flashes of bright white light behind Jay's eyes. Jay knew his heart was still beating. He could feel it, pumping against the palm of his hand, forcing the blood out. The faceless man had not moved, had not spoken. It had come for him, Jay was certain. That had been the plan all along, he could see that now. This was the ark. The hooded man had led him to it, and Alex had so graciously helped. Not Alex, Jay corrected himself. That wasn't Alex. Alex had been gone for a long time. Jay wondered why it had taken him this long to realize that. Tim had known. He should have listened to Tim.
The faceless man was getting impatient. He did not like to be kept waiting. The sharp pain returned, twisting and hot. Jay moaned, the sound wet and thick with blood. The only coherent thought that pushed through was of the camera. Was it recording? Would Alex smash the tape? Tim. Tim couldn't see this. Tim couldn't. Jay gasped, choking for air. The faceless man was so very impatient. He only needed to open his eyes, and that would end it. End this. He had never been more certain of anything in his life.
It had been their sophomore year of high school, late April. Alex and Jay were walking together, headed to the library to study for a test. Jay had been nervously reciting study guide questions to Alex the whole walk, who was only half listening at best. Out of nowhere, seemingly, to Jay, a mixed group of senior and junior guys had approached the pair from behind, and shouldered Jay roughly aside on the sidewalk. The hat he had been wearing was knocked off, and Jay had stumbled into Alex. Before Jay could mutter an apology, Alex was shouting for the group of guys ahead of them to stop. Jay had stood back, mouth agape, watching as Alex strutted up to the boy who had shouldered him. Jay never heard what Alex said, nor what the other had responded, but it wasn't Alex who backed off. The group of guys walked off, muttering amongst themselves, and Alex had turned back to Jay. "You okay?" he asked. Jay nodded. Alex bent down, picking up Jay's fallen hat and placing it at a skewed angle back on his head. Alex had always hated that hat. "It makes your head look huge." he had said. Jay made a point to wear it as often as he could, just to annoy him.
Jay wasn't wearing the hat. It was sitting on the dashboard of his car. Tim would find the hat, maybe. Or Alex. Alex always found him. The faceless man was so, so very impatient. Jay opened his eyes. He was there, of course. Jay knew he would be. But he was only there in the corner of Jay's darkening vision. The majority of it was taken up by two large squares of light, bright and just behind the faceless man. Jay couldn't move his bloody fingers. He needed to turn the camera off. But the faceless man wasn't waiting anymore.