insert disclaimer here

Ch5

Wills head was pounding. He took it as a sure fire sign he was alive. Never before in his life had he ever been glad to have a headache. He slowly realized that he was floating, and that his head was bumping into something hard. Opening his eyes, he was surprised at what was around him. There were rocks all around, and in the dips and crevices water had collected and remained long after the tide went out. He was laying in one of the deepest of these tidal pools. Most surprising of all was how blue the water was. It was clear as ice, and just as cold. Will wanted to get up, out of the cold wetness, and look for Jake, but he didn't. He propped himself up against the rock behind him and shook out his dirty blonde hair. It was dead silent.

A low moan met his ears and Will perked up, straining for another sound. He leapt out of the pool of water, the air stinging him, and began to trudge over the rocks.

"Jake!" he cried. "Jacob! Where are you? Can you hear me?"

"Will…" a voice responded, barely audible. Will was climbing towards the tallest pile of rocks, and several times along the way he tripped or slid or twisted his ankles. Finally, he reached the top. As he clambered over them and down the steep incline on the other side, he expected to see Jake. He expected to, at any moment, turn and corner or what not and see Jake, sprawled out, hurt, bleeding, dying, broken… ruined. He reached the bottom, facing the rock wall. He stared at it. Praying silently, Will swallowed hard and turned around.

Jake was curled up on his side, facing out to the lake. Will's overcoat was lightly draped over him. He wasn't moving. Something glittered by him.

"Jake…?" Will approached his brother slowly. He numbly realized he was walking on his toes. Crouching by Jacobs still form, he felt about to cry. He had been so sure he'd heard Jake call out to him though… Hesitantly, he put his hand on Jakes shoulder. "Jacob?" His voice cracked. Jake's body shuddered under his touch.

When Jake had woken up, he had been sore and cold and that woman's face had been all he could see. She had disappeared, but he hadn't closed his eyes since. He didn't want her to come back.

So now, as he stared out towards the blue water that faded to black as the fog engulfed it, he had not been expecting anything. He could barely remember Will. He felt as though his entire life had been laying on this rock, and that everything he remembered, however dimly, had been a dream. He barely heard Will's voice, and when he had responded to his brother's call, it had been more of a question than an exclamation. When Will touched him, he was so unaccustomed to the feeling he jumped in spite of himself. He wasn't surprised, like Will guessed he was, he just seemed to have forgotten what being touched felt like.

He hadn't been on that ledge for his entire life. Jake remembered that know. He felt sick over the past hours. He squeezed his eyes closed, and when he opened them again, Will was staring at him curiously.

"Are you alright, Jake?" Will smiled a little and suddenly Jake felt hands under his arms dragging him up. "Jake?" he felt dizzy. Will plopped down next to him and casually tossed an arm across Jake's shoulders. "I was worried for a second there."

"Yes…I'm fine, Will. Just fine…" He dragged his knees up to his chest. "The most curious thing happened while I was lying here." Will noticed Jake sounded detached ad quiet. "I felt I had spent my whole life on this ledge. That neither you nor anything I had ever done had actually existed… it felt like my whole life had been a dream." He stared off into the distance. "it was silly." He added suddenly, feeling stupid he'd even mentioned it.

"Well… you needn't worry, everything will be alright now. I've got a feeling." Will smiled goofily. "Things always work out in the end for us." He glanced down. There, right at Jakes feet, were his glasses. Will recognized that they had been there all along, that he had seen them glittering before. He snatched them up. "Look Jake, your glasses! How bizarre!" Jake took them out of his hand so lightly Will barely felt it. Jake placed them on his nose and, blinking, smiled.

"Thanks." He paused. "Will…I'm sorry I got us into all this. We should have realized that, after our first assessment, that this was out of our league… we should have left then."

"Don't be silly. Do you know what would happen if we weren't running off on adventures to help people?" Jake shook his head. "I'd get horribly bored." Jake laughed miserably.

"You're so absurd sometimes. Here we are, in the midst of the most trouble we've ever been in-" Will punched him playfully in the arm. "-just about, and you're joking around. We don't even know where we are… or…or… how what we're going to do…" Will shrugged and stood up.

"Let's not worry about that to much. Step one is to get back to town, we'll go from there, alright?" Will held out his hand to help Jake up.

"It's a deal, Will." They shook on it, and Will heaved Jake to his feet. They stood like that for a while, hands still clasped. Eventually, Will tugged his little brother in a tight hug. Jake was surprised.

"Thank god you're alright, Jacob. I was so worried," Will sighed softly. Jake incredulously stared over his shoulder towards Will. Will's fingers dug into Jakes back.

"Will…Will, I'm fine! Calm down." He took Will's shoulders and wrested his brother off of himself. "I'm completely fine. There was something wrong, before… but I'm fine now. You rescued me Will, just like you always do." He smiled hesitantly before giving Will a quick peck on the cheek.

"Jake," Will said, laughing. "What was that?" Jake was blushing horribly.

"It was… it was just…just…" he sputtered.

"It was just surprising, that's all. I wasn't expecting it. It's just that, well, you haven't kissed me since-"

"Since our sister died," Jake said quietly. "I know." Will was at a loss. He bit the corner of his lip.

"Yes…" He paused darkly. "Well," He grinned in a forced way, trying to lighten the mood. "We're brothers; it's been far too long." He leaned in and sloppily kissed Jakes scruffy cheek. "There. Now we're even." He smiled. As they started what was sure to be a long walk back to town, Will said, "You know I hate that semi-beard of yours, don't you?" Jake laughed heartily.

XO

For the umpteenth time since they'd started walking, Jake and Will had stopped. Having no shoes, Jakes feet were tender and sore after just over half an hour of straight walking on the rough, uneven rocks. Groaning, he took a seat on the rock beneath him. Will rolled his eyes. Jake sent him a dirty look in response.

"You try walking around barefoot on this!" Jake motioned to the jagged rocks around them.

"Honestly, Jacob, we're never going to get anywhere at this pace!" Will sighed crossly.

"Well I'm sorry, Wilhelm." Jake snapped. Will glared down towards his brother. They shared an awkward silence.

"So…Jake…" Will was trying hard to pretend his little brother hadn't just gotten snappy with him, and that they hadn't just gotten in yet another fight. "Who do you think that woman was?"

"Who?" Jake asked innocently.

"You know," Will replied, rolling his eyes. "The one in the lake," his voice was suddenly rising and he was talking faster, "the one who almost drowned you, with the dark hair and pale skin and no lower torso!"

"Oh…yes. Of course." Jake smiled briefly.

"So… who do you think she is?" Will said slowly. Jake stared off into the distance before responding.

"I think… I think she's very lonely."

"That doesn't answer who she is, now does it?" Will scoffed. Looking hurt, Jake huffily turned away from his brother, and Will, being equally annoyed, turned on his heel and crossed his arms. Both realized they were being immature, but neither cared.

"I'm sorry, Will…" Will opened his mouth to respond, but Jake cut him off. "Let's just keep walking, alright? We won't have to stop again. I promise…" He stood up and adjusted Wills coat. Will chuckled. "What's so funny, Will? Will, why are you laughing at me?"

"Nothing," Will laughed. "It's just… you're so passive, Jake. You always think it's your fault."

"Well… isn't it?"

Will took his brother elbow and they started walking. Jake watched Will carefully, waiting tensely for his answer.

"Not all the time, bro, just sometimes." Will joked.

"You're really supportive, you know that?" Jake said dryly. Will gave him a pleasant pat on the back.

"Always, Jacob, always."

XO

Three and a half hours later, the pair stumbled into the small village. The sun had set, and while they had walked by the light of the moon for a while, as they approached the town, the fog thickened and it got very dark, so dark they could barely see. As they entered the town, and the rock tapered out to soft soil, Jake sighed in relief.

"We're off the rocks…" he dug his toes into the earth as they walked.

"How can you tell?" Will hesitantly asked.

"My feet." Jake sighed, exasperated at having to ask such an obvious question. "I can feel it."

"Oh…So… does that mean we're in town, then?"

"I don't know." They continued walking. "Oh, look!" Jake pointed into the distance, where two squares of light shimmered through the haze.

"Where?"

"Over there…no, Will, to the left."

"How can you tell where I'm looking?"

"I just know, Will. I know you that well. So do you see-"

"Oh, yes, I see it now! Fabulous!" With that, Will took a tighter grip on Jakes arm and dragged him towards the light.

"I hope we're actually back in town!" Jake said, while trying to concentrate on not beating up his feet on the mulch covered ground.

"Me too!" Will cried cheerfully as they reached the window of light. He found the door quickly and shoved it open. The pair toppled inside. The sudden light caught them off guard, as did the mass of people who rushed to them, and the squeals of joy that emanated from around the room.

XOxo

Sorry this took so long, schools been hectic. Hopefully more soon! Thanks for sticking in there… Also, I'm sorry this chapter kinda sucks and didn't explain anything… LOVE YOU! -me