The Cell of Hell
by Jordan Mar (Jordan-the-Jak-Fan)
Chapter Two: Bitter Start
This chapter is kind of funny, but there is some SERIOUS cussing, so if you are a small child and have been reading this the whole time, I suggest you turn back. Jak finally shows up just as I need him. But can he actually understand me and save me?
He's here...
He is? Where is he? What does he look like?
You'll see soon enough. I must go now. Good luck...
Wait! Don't leave me! What if he's not the one? No answer. I sighed and lay back down on the cold floor. It's just me now. Me and him.
"Put him in there!"
"Please, I don't understand why I'm here!"
"Shut up, you little fuck!" Is this him? Is a young boy that is so helpless and frail like I to be my rescuer? I don't believe this. He was supposed to be strong, powerful, willing! Maybe there is another...
I took a deep breath in as my cell door flung open, leaving a path of light in the middle of my chamber. I shut my eyes, blinded by the brightness that I used to call my friend. Now, I'm like a bat.Cringing at the very sight...
"Heh, check out your new room mate, wench. Hope you two can get along well...Hahahaha!" The two guards left and shut the door behind them, eliminating the light, giving me a chance to see my supposed saviour...
"Um, hi..." He tried to be...friendly? Why? He's supposed to be strong and hefty. Instead, he was small and childish in so many ways. His bright yellow hair stood on end, reminding me of...what was it? The sun? Yes, that's what it was called. Sun. And his eyes! Such a...beautiful bright blue. Hiseyes remind me of the blue sky. My old friend. Is this what you mean by saviour? A reminder? A memory? A boy? He seems older than I, but still, he is only a child!
"Uh, hello? Anybody in there?" I freeze. Voice, you told me not to say anything. To the guards? To him? What do I do? Help me! I'm counting on you and him to help me out of here!
Speak only to him...
What do I say?
"Hey!"
Hurry!
BUT WHAT DO I SAY?
Anything!
"Um...uh," I croak. How graceful of me...
Wonderful. Now wait for a reply. You can talk to him...
Talk?
Yes...
"Hi! I'm Jak. What's your name?"
"Erm, I, uh...oh," I stutter again. "Can't you talk right?" His grammer surprised me. Did he not think deep like me? He didn't seem like a saviour... "Y-yes..."
"Go on, don't be afraid!"
See, he is only trying to help. Speak!
"M-my name is...J-Jordan..."
"There you go!" This is wrong. He's so...cheerful! What's wrong with him? Did he not recieve the same type of punishment as I growing up? "So, Jordan, where are we?" Should I tell him the truth? Should I tell him that he is my saviour? Should I tell him that we are practically in hell?
Tell him everything your heart has kept locked up for so long...
"We are...in a prison."
"I got that part already," he said mockingly. He leaned back and put his hands under his head. "No! You're my saviour! You have to help me! I can't do this on my own! YOU HAVE TO HELP ME!"
"You ARE crazy! I'm a hero, not a god! You're on your own! I'm getting out of here..."
"You can't leave! Nobody can! I've tried and tried, but no matter what I do, I'm so helpless, belittled, foresaken..."
"Whoah, that's quite a speech. Sorry, but I've got things to do. Like find my friends..." Friends? He has others that need him as much as I do?
Befriend him. Become a friend, and he may be willing to help you...
Be a friend. "W-would you be...my friend?" I ask timidly. I shouldn't be afraid of him. But I am. It's only natural in a place like this. I can't remember the last time I had real friends. Maybe this would be a good start... "God, you're a persistant one! I told you once, and I'll say it again: I've got to get out of here. I already have friends..."
Don't give up, Jordan. He's foolish. He doesn't realize that there's so much more to you than meets the eye...
I didn't realize that there was more to me than meets the eye! What's so special about me? How can I let him know of something that I know nothing of myself?
You have time to learn. Both of you do...
I had a strange feeling that the voice had a secret. What is your secret? Why can't you tell me straight out?
Nothing comes to one instantly. You are impatient, Jordan. You must have faith and patience. It is good to be persistant when it comes to something that you both need and deserve...
"I will not give up on you," I said. "I will not give up because Voice says that being persistant is good!"
"Leave me alone! I'll get out myself..."
"NO ONE CAN ESCAPE, YOU FOOL! Even I have a hard time accepting it, but it's true! You can't get out of here from the inside. You need outsiders...like you..."
"Like me? Were you expecting me or something?"
"Yes, I've waited all my life for this. And it's finally here! You can save us all! Please, help me!"
"I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! YOU'RE JUST A CRAZY KID!"
"How old are you?"
"What?"
"You heard me. How old are you?"
That's it. Don't give up! Tell him that your in need!
"I'm...uh, fifteen," he barely whispered. So here he was. Accusing me of being a child when he was just a child himself. Fifteen. "Ha! You're just as young as I! Admit it. You're weak. Defenseless. I'm strong. I'm willing. Brave! Why can't you see me for who I am? Do I look weak to you?"
Steady, my dear. You shouldn't be angry. Be kind...
Kind? I've never heard of such a thing! Why should I be kind to someone who is not kind in return?
BECAUSE IF YOU ARE KIND TO HIM, HE WILL BE KIND TO YOU!
"No, you don't look weak. You are weak!"
"How could you say that? How could you say that when you've only been here for less than an hour!"
"Because I know that you and I were in a fight, I would take you down in less than five minutes!"
"Is that how you judge everyone? By their appearance? By their strength? Pitiful." It truly was. Even the guards didn't judge me by weakness. Partially because they just didn't care... "My, my, my. Brave, now aren't we? Go ahead. Try me."
"What?"
"You heard me. Try and fight me."
Don't do it, Jordan! He's just testing you! You'll only make him angrier...
I don't care! If a strike is what he wants, then a strike is what he gets!
SMACK!
Well, I can't say that I'm proud of you, but that was actually a nice shot...
I stared at my hand in disbelief. This...this was not my doing! I didn't hit him...did I? "Damn it!" he screamed, landing his fist into my jaw. It hurt, but not enough to keep me down. Launching up into the air, I grabbed hold of his neck and slammed him into the floor. Soon, we were neck and neck, struggling to keep one another off. Jak growled with rage as I struck out again, this time at his stomach.
GET OFF OF HIM!
No! You said to only listen to him! This is what he wanted! I'll be damned if he wins!
Listen to yourself! You sound like a little child, just like they say you are!
Drowning out the voice with our growls, we repeatedly threw ourselves at each other. Growing tired of child play, Jak sank his teeth deep down into my arm. A sharp pain wracked my body. "No! Oh, God!"
"What? Did that hurt?" he asked mockingly, standing up to watch me cringe. "You don't understand! It's th-that...D-dark Eco!"
"Huh?"
"Dark Eco! Haven't you heard of it?"
"Yeah, but I've never seen it do this! My friend got turned into an Ottsel, and that's all the effects that I've learned of..."
"Around here, Dark Eco does much worse than change the appearance." For a moment he seemed to be in deep thought. "So what has it done to you?"
"Everything. I'm unhealthy, weak, and sometimes, I lose control of my actions. Like just now..." Another wave of pain surged through me. "You need help!" Jak yelled, scooping me up into his arms and laying down on my "bed."
"Do you still think I'm crazy?" I managed to growl, clenching my fists incase he decided we were to fight again. "Yeah, but right now, you've got bigger problems!"
"I just need some water, the Dark Eco will eventually settle..."
"Eventually? Are you used to this or something?"
"It happens every day. It's not that big of a deal..."
"If you say so..." I stood shakily from the spring cot and hobbled over to the water basin, but Jak quickly swept me off my feet and sat me back on the cot. "What are you doing? I have to get some water!"
"I'll get it for you."
"Get it for me? Didn't your people ever tell you to get it yourself?" Jak stared at me for a long time. "Pretty rough around here, huh?"
"Yeah, not the life I expected..." We sat in an awkward silence until Jak finally remembered what he was doing. He reached the water basin and squatted down. "What do you drink out of?"
"You mean there's other things to drink out of besides the basin?"
"YOU DRINK STRAIGHT OUT OF THE BASIN?" I didn't understand why this was so new to him. All my life there was only that basin and my hands to eat and drink with. "Yes."
"This place is screwed..." Again he picked me from the bed and set me beside the basin to drink to my heart's content. "Jak, where do you live?"
"Well, I used to live there, but I don't know if I can go back..."
"Why?"
"That place is on the other side of this...portal that my friends and I found when we saved the world." He saved the world! He IS a hero! "Really? Tell me everything!" For the first time in seven years, I cracked a wide smile. Never had I been so excited. "Everything? Hope you've got a lot of time!"
"I have all the time in the world! Just please, tell me of your epic journey!"
"Just do me one favor..."
"What's that?"
"Stop using big and fancy words like 'epic' or 'belittled' and all that junk."
"Deal! Now, tell me that story!"
"Well, it all started when me and my friend Daxter went to this place called Misty Island, where he fell into an entire pit of Dark Eco, causing him to turn into an Ottsel... Samos the Sage really chewed us out for that one. Anyway..."
Hm, so you have good thoughts about this one?
I have the BEST thoughts about him! For the first time in my life, I feel like I can actually trust someone...
Be careful. Things will change, my child. And some changes are not for the better...
And by those changes I mean Dark Powers! The next chapter is like a year later when Jak has already been through that same kind of torture crap as me. I'll let the rest be a surprize. All reviewers will get a hug from my pet pig Ham!