Chapter 6: Tears

Part 1: Jack

Jack's sides hurt again. He was running through the jail, looking for Joe. Jack was yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Joe! Where are you?"

Jack was fearful to say the least. It was a strange feeling for Jack, because he had never felt this way before. He never knew his father, and never met his mother. He was an only child, and was very quiet. His only friend in this world was Rock. Jack thought about Rock. It was only a few days ago, but it felt like forever.

"Come on, Jack! We need to get to the falls!" Jack felt panicked. He did not know what was going on, but it felt like they were talking about him. He knew they weren't, but, it felt so…right. He could hear the shouts"

"Hurry, before we lose him!"

"Why? How could this have happened?"

"He's drifting away."

"Someone save him"

Jack knew who they were talking about. His one true friend. Jack was in a panic. He thought it was his fault. Again. No, he knew it was his fault. He couldn't see anymore. All the bottled up tears. They all came out at once.

Tears. Until that moment, just a week ago, he questioned tears. Were they real? He had read about them, and saw them on TV. But…could there be such an emotion. Then, on that day, he actually saw them. Not from himself, but from others. Ruby, Lumina, Flora. They all had them. Jack then questioned his concept of reality. Am I even awake? Could I still be only a day old. Could this just be my first dream? Why do these tears come so easily for others, but not for me. I used to think tears happened because you were broken. But…am I broken? Those were his thoughts that day. It seemed as if he had broken through a barrier. He cried that day, and this was the third time this week that he had done so. Was he now broken? Did he break himself with all of the sadness and stress? Or was he now fixed? Is life this complicated? Or am I just making it tougher on myself?

Jack was still running. He didn't even realize it. He saw Bubba, pulling somebody out of a cell. It was Joe! He dragged him out the door, onto a horse. Jack was trying to run after them, but he wasn't running anymore. He couldn't. He wanted to, but couldn't. He was fighting his subconscious self, and his endurance. Jack saw a tunnel. Well, it was more of a dot. But, it was growing. Something told him to run. Run from the darkness. He thought it was his sub consciousness, but it was a woman's voice. He answered it.

"But, I don't have the strength"

"If you wish it, it will be fulfilled."

Jack had found strength. Whatever it was, it had powers comparable to no man. He wanted to run, but something about the voice made him want to sleep. He was fighting himself again. His subconscious self was running, but he was sleeping. Was he sleep running? Was he even running? He could feel movement. Was he sleeping? He saw nothing but darkness, but what kind of darkness? He fell. Searing pain entered his stomach. He knew now he wasn't sleeping. But, he was engulfed in darkness, and slowly drifted off to a cold sleep.

End of Part 1

Chapter 6: Tears

Part 2: Jill

Jill was in another panic. She didn't know what to do anymore. This is the second time in two days she's been arrested. She bolted for the back door. Bubba ran after her, quickly to be stopped by Ann.

"Bubba, let me go after her, please?" Ann gave him puppy dog eyes.

"Okay, Miss Ann…bring her to me." Bubba was a sucker.

Ann ran to the back and caught up with her sister.

"Jill, over here!" Ann ran over to a row of iron axes, which one was chipped badly.

"Here!" Ann reached for the Axe.

"Why would I want a chipped axe?" Jill questioned her sister's judgment.

"You don't!" Ann grabbed the chipped axe and pulled it. All of a sudden the wall to the left moved, revealing a steel door. Ann entered some kind of password, and the door slid open.

"C'mon! This way!" Jill followed Ann down the stairwell.

"Welcome, to my inventor's workshop!" Ann seemed over excited, as to rub her accomplishments in her little sister's face.

"This way!" Ann pushed open the lone window in there. "Be careful, you'll end up in the front of the shop."

Jill climbed out the window, and ran over to the front door. She shut it tight, and chopped the knob off with the Golden axe she took from her sister's shop. She then ran. She ran as fast as she could, but couldn't see where she was going. Tears which were welling up then have exploded out now. They blurred her vision. Tears had always come easy for Jill, whether it was scraping her knee or not getting a toy for Christmas, tears always happened for her. When she was young, she didn't care. She couldn't expand her mind like she could now. Later in life, she wondered why she never saw anyone cry but herself. She realized she was different now, because she cried more than anyone she knew. She tried to fight the tears, but that only made more come. Kids called her names like "Tearjerker" and "Cryagara falls". That made more come. She went into a deep state of depression at age 13, only to come out of it after realizing that tears were normal, just not all the time. Her father signed her up for a depression help class, and learned to be herself again, with less tears. Now, she's back to her old bossy, extroverted self. But, now, the tears came again…

Thud! She had forgot she was running, and ran into something.

"Huh? What are you doing here?" It was a person.

She wiped her eyes, to see Ray in front of her.

"I'm running" was all she managed to choke out.

"From what?" Ray asked

Jill didn't know how, but she told him the whole story.

"But, you were on the beach all day, I was there." Ray believed her innocence.

"I know, but Officer Bubba won't believe me!" she was almost hysterical.

"C'mon, I know where we can go!" Ray grabbed her by the hand and they headed East.

End of Chapter 6