Chapter Four: Jake
Jake watched Claudette, Dwight, and Ace from the shadows before fading back into the woods. He was more comfortable away from the campfire than by it. Sure, the warmth was nice, but he'd rather not have the company. People tended to ask him questions and he rarely felt obliged to answer. It made things...difficult.
No, it was better not to get too attached. Forming bonds with the people here tended to get one targeted or killed.
Jake performed ably enough in trials so they usually left him alone. Those people that knew him, anyway. But there was a new one here now and he'd already coerced some dialogue out of Jake after Jake's rare attempt at humor. A mistake, he supposed, that he'd have to live with now.
Jake would have stayed and gotten the chill out of his bones if it had just been Claudette. She was about the only one who might just understand his unwillingness to be social.
Jake sat down with his back against a large cypress tree and stared at the stars so high above them. He knew they were fake. He still enjoyed them. The animals weren't real either, but Jake was still happy for them. They seemed to sense it because they rarely spooked in his presence like they did for everyone else. This reminder of home pleased him too.
There was actually a lot to like here if one looked hard enough.
The trees and plants were ever the comforting shelter. Jake lost his fear of the dark many years ago when he decided to embrace the solitary life and these woods had proven just as much a cradle as the ones back home. Perhaps even moreso given how they usually hid him from all the rampant danger here.
A brief smile stretched his cracked lips. Then he sighed and got to his feet. There was always more work to be done and never enough time to accomplish it all.
Jake picked up his toolbox and headed ever farther away from the campfire until he reached the home he had built.
It took time, but Jake had eventually realized that one didn't have to participate in every trial.
There was probably a limit to The Entity's patience so Jake threw his hat in the ring every so often, usually when he was running low on supplies-just to be safe. It still afforded him a considerable amount of down time.
Claudette was the only one who knew about the house and the fact that proximity to the campfire was what actually pulled a person into trials.
Jake still remembered when she found out his secret.
He'd been hammering on a piece of corrugated steel stolen from one of The Entity's sham buildings. It was loud, but necessary, however distasteful he might find using the material. Still, Jake thought he had a little time to do the work. He'd used the key on the hatch in the last round and imagined he had a while longer to make some noise.
Evidently not, his mind supplied, as he saw her silent and staring.
Jake hadn't heard her approach either but of course he wouldn't have. This was Claudette of all people.
After a minute of them staring at each other, Jake put his tools away. If she was here that meant the trial was as good as over. Claudette never left anyone behind if she could help it.
Despite surface similarities they were actually very different. She hadn't given up on humanity yet.
Jake disappeared into the shell of the building-it still needed that steel roof-and sat down on his makeshift couch to wait.
Claudette joined him soon enough and instead of saying anything or asking him any questions she simply handed him a sheaf of paper and sat down across from him on a pilfered steel drum.
Jake stared at the pages for a moment before beginning to read.
When he was finished, he blinked in surprise and stared at her. These were very detailed notes that explained far more than he'd garnered about their shared nightmare.
Normal people would probably have discussed things. Instead, Claudette handed him some blank pages and a makeshift pencil. He exchanged her notes for these and sat back. She left without another word but returned some time later to collect what he had written about his experiences.
After that, she showed up at times and they would sit together in silent, mutual appreciation of nature. Claudette shared with him her other notes, about the plants and animals, how they were different from or the same as those in the normal world. Jake would make comments in the margins about his observations.
Jake wasn't and would never be an academic, but he knew his flora and fauna. She seemed to appreciate that judging by her infrequent but still meaningful smiles. He felt the same way about her, loved the fact she never put any pressure on him to conform or even speak.
Reflecting on it now, Jake realized they had never exchanged a single word.
The thought made him smile.
Then he got down to the business of stripping branches for insulation. It was colder, lately, and he'd been meaning to do this for a while. Let Claudette handle Dwight and whoever else turned up for the next trial. She was actually way better with people than she gave herself credit for.
Jake worked until his limbs felt as heavy as the logs in between which he was stuffing this makeshift insulation. There was no real way to measure time inside the nightmare, especially around the campfire, but he felt he had put in his eight hours.
He didn't feel hungry or sleepy though. He never did. That didn't mean he couldn't have cravings. Right now, Jake thought he could go for some curry. Maybe with prawns or-heck, he'd take just about anything. Pork. Tofu. Especially beef. The thought made his mouth water, but his stomach didn't grumble. It never had.
Jake flopped back on the couch he had pilfered, cushion by hard-won cushion, from The Entity's version of Haddonfield. His breath whooshed out of him and he sat there with his feet splayed and his head thrown back for quite a while.
Sleep was a different matter. It could happen, the same way he could probably eat crow if he really wanted to. But like that phantom animal, it just wasn't as satisfying as the real thing.
Jake tried for sleep anyway.
Better than being sore.
He woke an interminable amount of time later and judged it enough by the fact his arms felt less like lead.
Jake inhaled the ubiquitous cool mist deep into his lungs as he thought about what else he needed for his current project.
Twine. Definitely. And nails were always good to have. He was running low on those. He also wanted to try for a real bed. Since that was the case, he'd definitely need his toolbox.
Jake picked it up and made his way toward the campfire before he could stop himself. He fished around inside his jacket pocket for the cracked pair of glasses he knew was there and then dropped them into the flames.
The fire flared, briefly, before settling.
Jake sat back to wait. It wasn't long before Meg showed up, then David, and finally, Feng.
She smirked at him as they were spirited away.
Jake rolled his eyes but none save the crow saw him. It blinked, cocked its head, but did not fly away.
Jake said a silent thanks and headed the opposite way. Already, he could hear The Nurse screeching. "Sally" never did anything by halves. She either murdered them all in a matter of minutes or seemed to forget her own strengths and let everyone get away as a result.
She was a strange one and he didn't feel like dealing with her just yet.
Jake crept into his favorite room and climbed on top of one of the bunk beds. From there it was easy to make the jump to the unfinished wall. Most people wouldn't have noticed the fact that there was no real ceiling in this spot, only darkness. Jake discovered it early in his tenure. So far, he'd successfully kept this secret to himself too.
He tucked his feet under him and braced himself against the wall. As always, the darkness clung to him like a wet blanket. He could practically feel The Entity watching, whispering.
Jake didn't care now. Oh, he'd been spooked the first time, but it didn't take him long to realize The Entity wasn't actually going to do anything about him finding yet another one of its gross oversights.
Sometimes he listened to The Entity's otherworldly whispers for hours while the frustrated killer looked for him to no avail. Today, he was on a mission.
Jake let The Nurse make two passes through the room before he dropped down to work on the generator. He had it up and running and was back in his hiding spot when she blinked back into the room. She hadn't found anyone yet, which suggested she wasn't feeling it this time. Still, Jake wasn't about to let his guard down.
He waited for her heartbeat to recede and then slipped down the wall once more. Now that the generator was lit there was no reason for anyone to come back here. He could, at last, get down to the real business of breaking down these beds.
Jake kept an ear out as he dragged down heavy mattresses and loosened screws. He had a little cloth pouch he kept smaller items in so as not to lose them. The mattresses dampened any noise he might have made otherwise.
When Jake deemed it safe, he began carrying pieces of the disassembled bed to the exit. He piled them silently, one piece at a time, behind the dumpster. Then came the harder task of dragging the two mattresses.
Jake waited until he heard someone screaming to begin.
By the time he'd managed it, all the gens were up and two people were wiggling on hooks.
It seemed "Sally" had changed her tune. Jake wondered if she knew what he had done and if she took it personally. He shrugged and opened the exit. Only when he had dragged all of his supplies to the edge did he venture out to help his fellows.
It wouldn't do to get them too pissed off at him. Then they would never leave him alone. But neither did he want anyone to see his haul. That would really get them asking questions. Luckily, it seemed David had gone for Meg so all Jake had to do was get Feng.
She regarded him with cold eyes from where she hung.
"About time," she said, and spit blood at his feet.
He rolled his eyes and she smirked, but he wiped that expression off her face soon enough with the pain from being lifted off the hook.
Jake took off hoping she wouldn't follow. He should have known better.
"Hey," she said, and when that didn't get a reaction, "Chaebol, hey."
Jake stopped dead in his tracks.
"Shut up, Feng." He didn't look back.
He definitely wasn't going to heal her now, a fact she well knew. She'd only said it, as ever, to get under his skin.
Jake still didn't understand how she knew about his heritage, but she did and she was always, always ready to use it against him.
"What's the matter? Golden parachute get stuck in some trees?"
Jake kept going, his teeth grinding together. His heart clenched painfully in his chest-an old pain flaring to life again. Damn her.
They were almost at the exit now and she was going to see his supplies and do...he didn't know what with that knowledge, but whatever it was wouldn't be good.
People like her, they made his decision to abandon his crushing responsibilities as heir to his father's company seem all the more worth it.
"You're a disgrace, you know that? I bet your dad-"
Jake had her pinned against the wall before he realized what he had done, his arm pressed against her windpipe and her-
Still smirking.
"That's more like it. Chaebol." Her laugh was high and cold, but there was something odd in her eyes.
Jake didn't care to explore what it meant. He let her go and she slumped down the wall before regaining her bearings. He was halfway across the room before he heard her footsteps. Still following. Damn it.
It was too late now. They were at the exit and there everything was. Remarkably, she didn't comment. Only helped him carry it all through the forest and back to the campfire.
Feng still didn't say a word, but as he dragged first one mattress and then another off into the woods, her eyes said he owed her big time.
Whatever.
Jake dragged his new bunk bed back to his house piece by piece and set everything up before collapsing onto the top bunk for the most restful sleep he'd ever had here.
He awoke almost refreshed and wasn't that a miracle.
Jake wondered why he hadn't done this sooner, then he started to climb down and noticed Feng lounging on the bottom bunk.
"So," she said, before Jake could wipe the surprise off his face. "This is where you've been hiding."
Jake didn't answer. His heart was racing and he fought to get it under control. This was his space. His personal- And she had invaded it. Claudette was one thing, but this was-
Jake made a fist in front of his mouth and fought to breathe through it.
She was staring at him, he realized. She knew. But how? How on Earth did she know everything about him? All his secrets, his past? But she wasn't mocking him, wasn't even speaking, and he didn't know why.
The thought sent a fresh wave of anxiety through him.
"Get out," he said, finally. And if his voice sounded a bit hoarse he didn't care.
He expected- "Oh, fine. Pussy." But she surprised him again with her acquiescence.
She was gone before he could pull his jaw up and just like that he was alone again.
The mist, ever present, curled around him like an embrace.
Jake shivered even as he put his face into his hands and began to quietly sob. The adrenaline was dying in his veins.
He felt unmade. Again.
It was a long time before Jake could work past the hurt enough to get down.
He found a cloth and scooped some water from a drum before scrubbing his face.
Jake felt more like himself now, but there was a chink in his armor and Feng had found it. This wasn't over, he knew. Not when it was Feng of all people. He didn't know why she seemed fixated on him, but ever since the beginning she'd trolled him without mercy. It would have been one thing if she hadn't possessed uncanny knowledge of all his weaknesses. Jake was used to people trying to make his life hell. He just didn't know what to do with someone who actually had the power to do just that.
Jake lost himself in hard labor and slept again. When he awoke, he found his thoughts still in turmoil and so returned to the campfire to quiet them. There was nothing like fighting for your life to distract you from everything else.
Jake entered the match with renewed determination. If he was honest, he'd never really cared to escape this place. Not really. There wasn't much left for him to go back to, after all. But now Feng had ruined what tenuous peace he had found. He had no desire to stay with someone like her around.
Jake thought back to Claudette and all her notes. He felt a little bad for not wholeheartedly pursuing this until now, but vowed to help her. If anyone was capable of lifting them out of this madness, it was Claudette.
With that in mind, Jake climbed the stack of crushed cars and stretched out to wait.
It was Claudette's old friend again and Jake was about ready to try an experiment of his own with her.
His fellow survivors were really capable people. Jake watched them evade The Nurse and get all the gens done, save each other, and eventually escape.
Just him and Sally now and he was reasonably sure she couldn't teleport up here.
There was no real way to measure time in this nightmare but Jake tried anyway. He kept his own count using a sturdy stick to dent metal every so often as Sally searched for him with increasing agitation.
It was an increasingly tedious task as the hours ticked by.
Eventually she seemed to give up and go into a kind of catatonic state in the middle of the map.
Jake studied her and continued to let the hours trickle by.
After an entire day, he stretched his groaning limbs, got down, and began to move towards her.
He crept closer until he was just behind her.
Jake readied the hatched he'd long ago stolen from a locker. He sucked in a breath.
And smashed her in the back of the head with the blunt end.
The Nurse went down hard and did not move. Red blossomed across the back of the filthy sack covering her head.
Jake kicked the saw out of her hand before pulling at her mask. The cloth came off with a rustle and Jake saw filthy blonde hair caked with dirt and blood. He rolled her over and fell on his butt in horror.
Sally's mouth was sewn shut and she didn't seem to have any eyelids.
That explained the screams.
Jake retched into the grass and wiped a hand across his mouth when the heaving passed. He looked at her again and regretted it as this brought on another wave of nausea. Jake swallowed this down and reached for Sally's pulse.
Still there, if faint.
He screwed his eyes shut and pinched his nose.
Thank God.
Jake got to his feet. He felt a little wobbly still, but there wasn't enough time. Who knew when The Entity would discover this?
He grabbed Sally's bone saw and strapped it to his back. Then he dragged her to the exit and it was just like The Entity to let them both through now that Sally was of no further use to it.