Chapter Two: Fresh Blood

Jay pushed the bronze key inside the lock on his apartment door, pressing the weight of his body against the wood in order to jolt it open. Feet throbbing after a long day at SonicSubs, all the auburn haired man wanted to do was collapse in bed. But he'd promised himself he would try out his invention tonight. Work out the kinks. Finish the prototype.

The thought of everything he'd promised himself to do overwhelmed him, and he waved it away. Maybe tomorrow. His eyelids felt heavy, and the last thing Jay wanted to do was use his brain. It wasn't in working condition anyway. The only thing his brain could think of was an endless loop of the annoying welcome he had to utter each time a customer entered the restaurant.

Hi! Welcome to SonicSubs, how may I help you today?

And, of course, a smile was required. But when Jay smiled, he wasn't thinking about satisfying the customer. He wasn't thinking about the restaurant's motto (Service fast as lightning!) and he definitely wasn't thinking about being the employee of the month. No. All Jay could think about in order to tug a smile on his lips was the future. His future.

World famous inventor, every one of his creations shipped throughout the world. Jay smirked, plopping onto the couch. His eyes shuddered to a close, and beneath his eyelids, the young man's daydream became real.

"It wasn't always easy, of course." Jay smiled, winking at the camera before him. He was being interviewed, and the girls in the audience went crazy when he did so. "But humble beginnings give you the strength to keep going. There were plenty of times I wanted to give up. But I always picked myself up. The trick to being as successful as me. . ."

Jay paused, gifting the audience with a flirty smile. " Is being-"

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A violent knock on his apartment door jolted Jay awake. His body, now unbalanced, toppled over the side of the couch. Shaking his head, the blue-eyed man stumbled towards the door, rubbing the now aching side of his head.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

"Give me a break, it's the middle of the night. . ." Jay growled, struggling to unlock the door. As soon as it creaked open, Jay's mouth continued to babble. "Look, buddy, I don't know what you could possibly want with-"

The doorway was empty.

Cautiously, Jay leaned out the door, looking left and right. Both sides of the hall were deserted. The young man rolled his eyes, shrugging. Before stepping back inside, a small business car resting against the dark ground caught his eye. Jay bent down to pick it up, his curiosity throbbing.

"Cole Brookstone: Nature Guide and Rock Climber," he read, one eyebrow raised in amusement. "Become one with nature. Test your limits. Conquer the mountain."
Jay turned the small card over, where a number had been printed. "Call to make an appointment."

Shaking his head, he slipped the card into his back pocket. Rock climbing? Nature guide? Jay almost chuckled. The thought of it was ridiculous. Why would someone leave such a thing for him to find? He wasn't exactly the athletic type. As he lay back on the couch, Jay tried to shrug the strange happenstance away. But even as he slept, his curiosity blossomed.

As soon as the first rays of sunlight peeked through his curtains, Jay dialed the number.


Sweat dripped down his forehead, but he couldn't wipe it away. His hands were busy with something else. With great determination, he tightened the bolt above him before loosening his grip on the wrench in his right hand. "Finally done," the man sighed, feeling a great deal of pressure lift off of his shoulders. The repairs on the car had been a real challenge, but at least they were done now. The customer would be happy to see that the job was finished before he came, for once.

Psssssssh!

The sound scared him and he jolted upwards, hitting his head on the underside of the car. Groaning, he felt himself being dragged by his feet. Fluorescent lights blinded him until a silhouette loomed over him, quickly coming into focus. "What did you do now?" a tired voice asked, studying him carefully. It didn't take long before the sighing started. "Leaking oil? Kai..."

"It's not suppose to be leaking oil," Kai growled, sitting up and rubbing his forehead with the back of his right hand. "I had fixed it. Everything was fine. I was finally done with the stupid car." Blood boiling, the brunet tossed his wrench down onto the ground where it landed with a heavy thud. "I. . . I thought I'd fixed it, Nya." His head fell perfectly into his oil stained hands. Kai didn't know why he bothered coming into work every day. He wasn't good at being a mechanic and he honestly didn't know why. After his mother had passed away, Kai remembered his father throwing himself into his work more, trying to share his craft and passion with his kids. Nya had picked it all up instantly. But Kai. . .

"Just, don't worry about," Nya, his sister, said. "I'll fix it. You can. . . do whatever you want." She grabbed the wrench off of the ground and slid her way underneath of the car, ignoring the puddle of oil that soaked the back of her clothes and hair. Within seconds, the steady sound of leaking pressure and oil subsided.

Kai fumed as he tore through the shop he'd grown up in, seizing an old rag from off of a stool to wipe his hands on. Once his hands were as clean as they could be without a good shower, he dabbed at the oil stain that was steadily dripping its way down his faded red coveralls. The smell of the metal and oil that filled the very air of the shop was making Kai sick to his stomach. This was all he'd ever known, but it still felt unfamiliar. "I'm sorry, Dad," Kai said, leaning back against the tool chest behind him. "I let you down. Every time I try, I fail, and I just can't figure out what I'm suppose to do." He threw the rag in his hands over his shoulder. "But I know I'm just not suppose to do this."

"You're not moping again, are you?" Nya placed a hand on her brother's arm. "Everyone messes up sometimes, Kai. It's no big deal."

"I'm tired of messing up," the brunet spat, light brown eyes narrowed. "Failing drives me crazy and that's all I ever seem to do."

Nya rolled her eyes. "Look, that was the last car that we had to work on today. Just take tomorrow off and try to relax or something."

Shrugging his sister's hand off of him, Kai stood and started walking away. "Sure, I'll do that. Not like you'll miss me here anyway. You'll probably have all of the cars done before noon." Ignoring the satisfied chuckle he heard behind him, Kai continued walking until the bright evening sun hit his face. "'Take tomorrow off and try to relax or something'. Yeah, great idea, sis. Lemme just figure out what to do to try and forget about how I'm terrible at my own job. It's not like something's just going to-"

He was blinded. Kai sputtered, prying something off of his face that had gotten picked up in a sudden gust of wind. The paper in his hands was advertising something that made him laugh. Nature? Who would ever want to just go out and explore nature? Well, apparently this Cole Brookstone would want to. "You know what? Why not? I have nothing better to do. The farther away from the shop tomorrow, the better."


For once in a very, very long time, someone had actually dialed Cole's number.

It'd been two guys, both scheduling a trip for later this afternoon. Since the moment Cole's phone had rung, the black haired man hadn't stopped smiling. He'd known pursuing his true desires wasn't going to be easy. His father had made sure to tell Cole over and over how difficult it would be for him to make any money as a nature guide.

"People just aren't interested anymore, Col,." his father had said, sighing in disappointment. Cole had been used to the sound, as he seemed to let his father down more and more with each decision he made. "With technology and all those sorts of better entertainment, who is going to spend an afternoon rock climbing?"

"I am," Cole had replied, before stomping out the door. At that moment, leaving home seemed to be the only reasonable thing to do. He'd been in the heat of the argument, passion guiding his actions rather than cool logic. Cole regretted running away plenty of times since the incident, but never had the courage to return to his father's doorstep.

Cole strapped on his heavy brown hiking boots, shaking away the memory and packing the necessary equipment for his day's work. He didn't know if the two guys would dare to actually rock climb, but it was better to be prepared. Once everything was ready to go, Cole trotted outside, breathing in the fresh air. Every regret that had filled him moments before dissipated.

He loved being outside. Loved the smell of earth, of life, around him. It filled him with a sense of ecstasy that was hard to top. It didn't matter if his father thought Cole was crazy. This was so, so very worth it.

After an hour or so of walking, Cole reached the small cabin where he'd agreed to meet the others. Dropping the heavy bag of equipment upon the dirt, the dark haired man leaned back against the wooden walls. He closed his eyes, his ears tuning in to nature's music. If it was up to him, Cole would remain like this forever.

A loud rumbling sound cut through the peace and quiet, making the nature guide slowly open his eyes. The sound grew louder, and seconds later, a red pick-up truck drove into the cabin's parking spot. Behind the wheel sat a young man whose brown hair stood at sharp, odd angles. Trying not to smirk at the sight, Cole walked forward to greet his first customer.

"Hello!" He waved, faking the largest smile he could muster. "You must be. . ."

"Kai," the man answered, sliding out of his vehicle and slamming the door shut. "And. . . well this isn't exactly my thing. I just. . . I found your flyer and wanted to do something different-"

"No matter!" Cole continued to smile. "We'll start simple. Everyone starts somewhere, Kai, so don't be ashamed to tell me if we're moving too fast."

The brunet ran a hand through his hair and gave a sharp laugh. "Take it easy there, Brookrock. You're making this sound more like a date than an outdoor excursion." He watched Cole's smile fade almost instantly, his lips falling into a thin line. "Relax," Kai said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "It was just a joke. Trying to make some conversation."

"Aw, people are telling jokes without me?"

Kai and Cole turned their attention away from each other and towards the new voice that had spontaneously joined. A man slowly trudged towards them, a glint of amusement in his blue eyes. "I'm pretty much the master of comedy, so I don't like being left out." He had a tight grip on both straps of a backpack that looked as if it was weighing him down. The ends of the man's auburn hair were beginning to curl up where they touched his sweating forehead.

"Please don't tell me you walked all the way out here," Kai said, his eyes wide.

The man dropped his large, oddly square, backpack to the ground, revealing lines of sweat along his blue shirt where the straps had rested. "I didn't know this would be a group thing though. Now I'm even more excited! Hi, my name's Jay." He offered his hand to Kai who stared at it for a while before shaking it.

"Kai," the brunet answered. "And you completely ignored what I said."

"No, no," Jay grinned, pulling his hand away from Kai and wiggling an index finger. "You told me not to tell you that I walked here. So I didn't." The man ignored Kai's unsavory gaze and turned to Cole. "So you must be Cole Brookstone then! Thanks for squeezing me in so soon. You're probably really busy so I don't want us to take up too much of your time."

Cole shook Jay's hand and smiled once again. "Oh, well, I'm usually really busy," he lied, clearing his throat immediately afterwards. "But today is a bit of a slow day, so you two are the only people that I have to guide today. We can take as much time to just explore the woods in the area or-"

"Can we climb the mountain now?" Jay asked, slowly picking up his backpack.

Taken aback by Jay's blunt attitude, Cole just nodded, dumbfounded. "Uh, yeah, sure. . . We can start heading towards the mountain and then I'll help you guys get some gear on so we can climb it. Sound good?" His grey eyes landed on Kai who hadn't spoken for a little while now. "If that's okay with you, Kai. Like I said, we don't have to rush-"

"It's fine with me, Brookpebble," Kai said, his expression neutral. "If the funny man wants to climb a mountain, then we can start heading to the mountain."


As they walked, Jay clutched his backpack tightly, trying to ignore the weight of it. Right before calling, as Jay was on the verge of dumping the strange business card onto the trash, an idea had popped into his mind. Rock climbing. That meant mountains. And mountains meant high ground.

And high ground meant he could test his invention.

A pair of wings, ones he'd fashioned from scrap metal and cloth. The idea of flying had always been humanity's greatest desire, and now Jay would make it a reality. And then he'd be everyone's hero. He could already hear the cheers, chanting his name as he-

"Jay?"

Cole's voice snapped Jay back into reality. The blue eyed man shook his head, snapping his eyes into focus. The nature guide stood before him, holding a rope towards Jay. "I said, you shouldn't carry that with you. I'm guessing you're a beginner? The weight is just going to make it harder to climb up."

Jay grabbed hold of the straps tighter, stepping back defensively. "No, no. My backpack stays. I'm strong enough."

Cole sighed. Maybe he was better off staying away from people. These small interactions with the two guys made him realize how badly his patience for people had dropped. With their small comments and stubborn attitudes, it was all Cole could do not to leave them stranded in the forest. "Well. Alright. If you say so."

Jay smiled widely. He was better at persuading people than he thought. Must be his natural charisma, something that would be extremely useful once he was famous. Jay patted the side of his backpack, making sure that everything was as it should be.

Then the three of them started the climb.

There was no talking. Kai and Jay didn't have any breath left in them to create any words, and Cole preferred peace and, apart from a couple 'You doing okay?'s and 'How are you holding up?'s, the climb was done in utter silence. Jay began to regret bringing his invention. Cole had been right, it weighed him down far too much. His shoulders had begun to ache furiously, and the only thing he wanted to do was cut the straps off to make his climbing easier. But then he thought of his future again (millions of fans, millions of interviews, and, most of all, millions of dollars), and Jay propelled himself forward.

Kai wasn't doing too great either. The only thing that prevented him from whining was his own stubborn determination. He wasn't going to give Brookboulder any reasons to call him a beginner. Besides, being out here was far better than being locked up inside the auto shop. There was something extremely satisfying about testing his limits, a certain kind of pleasure that the four suffocating walls of his job didn't provide.

Cole, on the other hand, was having the best time of his life. Not only was he doing what he loved more than anything, but he would actually get paid for it too! It was almost too good to be true. Sure, it might only be two customers, and sure, he was bound to return to having nothing to do tomorrow, but for today, things were just as he thought they would be. This was what he'd dreamed of when he'd stepped outside of his home, leaving everything he'd ever known behind.

The black haired man's hand grabbed hold of the mountain top, a satisfied smirk lighting up his sweaty features. Once again, he'd done it. This mountain was nothing more than a warm up at this point. His muscles weren't even stinging yet. In one fluid motion, Cole swung himself onto the mountain. He ran his hands through his hair, then froze on the spot, almost tumbling back in shock.

An old man was staring straight at him, calmly sipping at a cup of tea.