From bad to worse:
Two years later:
Thanksgiving night was the last night anybody saw Ryan Andrew. Eleanor had mourned his disappearance ever since, she had often been tempted to put on her old Big Sister suit and head down to Rapture to find and bring Ryan back. But she couldn't do that. What would she say to her children? To her family? What if Ryan was dead? What would happen if she died down there? Eleanor couldn't leave her children, not even for Ryan.
His disappearance hit everybody in the family hard, but it seemed to affect Jacob more than anybody else. He barely talked to anybody, he spend all his time locked up in his room doing who knows what. Either way nothing was going good.
"Dammit Ryan, how dare you leave me alone to raise our children." Eleanor muttered angrily as she made her way to the parent teacher conference. Parking her old red pick up truck Eleanor got out of the car and walked into the school, she wore a black dress, and her shoulder length hair was combed down neatly. Walking through the halls she found room 194, Jacob and Sophie's classroom.
Stopping in front of the door she took a deep breath before opening the door and entering the room. The classroom was barely decorated, it was plain and not very colorful, the walls were painted white. There weren't even any posters hung on the walls. Just a large picture frame on the wall that declared the rules of the classroom. The only furniture were the seats and desks of the students and the teacher.
Jacob was sitting alone at one of the desks in the front row, his head down. Eleanor figured something was wrong. "Misses Andrew." She heard a cold voice, looking for the first time she saw a man sitting in the teachers chair, for a second Eleanor had mistaken him for a stone pillar.
He was old, probably in his late thirty's, and his hair was gray. From the way he sat and composed himself she gathered that he was the type of person that gave orders and expected them to be followed. Probably threw a tantrum when they weren't, she joked to herself. "Mister Jonathan?" Eleanor asked.
Jonathan smiled at her, he liked this woman. "Yes, please take a seat." He said gesturing to the chair in front of him.
"Has Jacob done something wrong?" Eleanor Asked, worried for her son.
"Oh that." Jonathan replied. An idea to woo the lady before him formed in his head. "He is a menace to my classroom, a parasite. Not worth my time to work with him." he spoke coldly, sending the occasional glance at Jacob. Said boy immediately raised his head, his teacher was lying about him. He didn't do anything wrong, he had defended himself from butch and his boyfriends and he got in trouble for it.
"That's a lie!" he yelled.
"Jacob! Go to the principals office!" Jonathan shouted.
"But-"
"No buts, go." Jonathan snapped.
Jacob got up from his seat and left the room. He was pissed, but he wouldn't show it.
Once Jacob left Jonathan spoke, "It must be hard work taking care of children when your single misses Andrew." He half expected her to say she wasn't alone, that she had a husband.
"Yes, it is." Eleanor said sadly as she looked down. Trying to hold her tears back.
'Wonderful.' Jonathan thought, it was just what he wanted to hear. "You see Misses Andrew my aim is to educate the students, to help them achieve a better future. How about we talk about Jacob's situation over dinner?" He offered.
Eleanor froze and immediately replied "No thank you, maybe some other time?" She didn't want to be rude.
"Okay, the offer's always open whenever you like." He replied.
Taking her things Eleanor left in a hurry. His eyes on her made her feel very uncomfortable all of a sudden.
'Yes my little widow, I can wait, I always did like woman who play hard to get more.' Jonathan mused as he watched Eleanor leave.
Andrew household: 5:00am
Jacob was the first one to wake up that day. Today was the field trip for the kindergarten through third grade students. They were going to take a week long cruise to explore the Atlantic oceans.
He had been waiting a whole year for this trip and he wasn't going to miss it. Taking his backpack, which was packed with his clothes and a few other things, he walked out into the hall. "Aaaachoo!" He heard from his sister's room. Peeking his head into the room he saw Sophie, she still had the cold she'd had for a few days now. It was safe to say he had been spending alot of time outside, away from her, the last couple of days.
"Sophie you still have a cold. I'm afraid you can't go on the cruise." He heard his mom say from across the room, she must be mixing some horrible concoction for Sophie to drink. Jacob winced, he may not like Sophie all the time but he wouldn't wish his Mom's "Wonder Cure's" on his worst enemies. Well, okay, maybe Butch.
"But Moooom, I want to go, and I'm not sick anymore, re-rea-Choo! … that proves nothing." Sophie muttered.
"Sorry sweaty, but your staying here. Don't want you to spread an epidemic, now do we?" His mom joked.
Things were beginning to look up. Considering yesterday his mom gave him a long speech before sending him to his room with no dinner that wasn't saying much, but still. Looking around he took one last thing from his room before heading downstairs.
His dad's old necklace watch, according to Grandpa Daniel it had been in the family for generations. He claimed that no matter how many times you lose it, it always found its way back to you. The pendant was a watch, it was round, in shape of the sun. Opening it there was not only the working watch inside, but there was also a picture of his family on the other side as well.
"Dad, I wish you'd come home." Jacob said softly, stroking the picture before closing it and placing it on his neck. He didn't want to test the theory of "always finding it's way back to him."
Walking downstairs Jacob waited for Eleanor to come downstairs. once she did they left the house for the pier where the cruise ship was docked.
New york pier: 7:00am
Getting out of the old car Eleanor and Jacob walked over to the fairly large cruise ship. It was just about to leave. They looked at each other, it was like staring at a stranger. With no hugs, no "I love you's", or "Wish you a happy trip." Eleanor let Jacob go.
Getting on the cruise Jacob ran up to the deck before looking down the ramp. He stared as his mother drove off. It was heartbreaking to see his mother leave him like that. Even before the incident with the Jerk, Jonathan, she had been getting more and more distant. It was most likely due to him getting in trouble alot, but he couldn't help but think it was because he was starting to look more and more like his father. He watched the coast from the back of the ship until New York disappeared over the horizon.
"Attention students, it is time to report to your rooms." He heard one of the teachers call.
Taking a deep breath Jacob walked off of the deck and into the lobby where the rooms were, a bit of walking later he found room 23, where he would be staying.
Opening the door he was horrified at what he saw...
"Mutant." ...yep it was Butch.
Oh joy... this is exactly what the mentally drained boy needed.
Jacob sighed as he entered, watching Butch's every move just in case he tried anything.
"Looks like you and me are going to be roommates." Butch said.
"Yeah." Jacob replied, aaaand now came the threats and insults.
"Here's the deal. I get bottom bunk, you stay out of my hair, and I stay out of your hair. And don't you dare to tell anybody we're sharing rooms or else you will be sorry." Butch offered rather calmly.
"O-kay?" Jacob answered with a raised eyebrow. That... actually didn't sound so bad. Packing his things inside of his provided dresser he backed out of the room, still fairly cautious. The other shoe was gonna drop soon and-
"Jacob, I would like a word with you." he heard, 'Aaaand there it is. And what a grumpy shoe it is.' Jacob muttered sarcastically as he looked up. It was Jonathan, he was standing a few feet away, his height dwarfing Jacob's.
"Jacob, I am aware that you know that I like your mother." he said in his usual, cold voice.
"Yeah, and you can't have her. My dad will be back and he won't like it when he see's you trying, and failing, to woo my Mom." Jacob grinned.
"Oh Jacob, Jacob, Jacob. Your father is dead." Jonathan replied mockingly.
Jacob's eyes narrowed, "Say it again... I dare you." He hissed. He got enough of this from Butch, he wasn't going to take it from someone who couldn't legally hit him back.
"Ryan Andrew is dead and never coming ba-Ugh." Jonathan bent over at the waist before falling the the ground in the fetal position.
From what Uncle Jack had told him about the Man Code he had probably just broken no less then five rules but Jacob could really care less right now. His anger satisfied he left the whimpering man on the ground and headed upwards.
Cruise deck: 7:00pm
Now that he was alone Jonathan's words sunk in. He couldn't believe it, in just one day his mood was ruined. He wished his father was here. He would have done something about it. He was busy with work and Sophie most of the time, yes, but he always knew how to make things right.
Walking over to the railing of the deck, Jacob sighed before sitting against the metal beams, his back against the cold metal of the rail. He closed his yes and tried to relax, unknowingly falling asleep.
Hours later, a bright light woke him up. Staring at it he realized it was a lighthouse.
"No way!" Jacob yelled. It was the same lighthouse that Grampa Daniel and Grampa Delta had described to him. The entrance to Rapture.
Feeling something in his hand he looked down and saw the Big Daddy doll. 'Where did this come fro-*BOOM!* An explosion cut him off. Freezing in shock he looked around. There were no explosions, no fire, but he knew he heard an explosion. Looking around he saw a swarm of people run out of the lobby and onto the deck. The ship was sinking. What was worse was that there were no life boats.
Among the midst of panic of everybody jumping out of the boat, or being pushed out everything became a blur. In what seemed like a flash to Jacob was suddenly floating in the ocean on a large piece of wood. He didn't know where it came from, but it was big enough to support his weight and that was all he really cared about right now.
It was all to much, to fast for Jacob, huddling into a ball on his raft he cried softly to himself as he tried to block out everything.
"Is everybody alright?" Misses Henry shouted as she made sure her kindergarten class was alright, finding planks for them and such.
"Yes... it seems that we're all here." Another teacher said, doing a quick head count.
Before any other teacher could answer there was a scream. Everyone looked at the girl who screamed, if Jacob remembered right her name was Brianna. Her soaked red hair was shaking around wildly as she screamed.
"What is it?" One of the teacher's asked as he swam next to her. "Something took Wally... he's gone!" She shouted, no sooner then she said that something, or somebody, seemed to grab her from below the water and pull her underwater.
"Brianna!" Her friend, Kelly, shouted before she too was pulled under.
One by one everybody sunk, like rocks thrown into a river, some shouting, others not even having enough time to do that much. In less then five minutes everybody was gone... leaving Jacob alone.
He was scared. looking into the water and spinning to look in every direction he almost tipped his raft. suddenly he saw something floating up. He thought it was some sort of beastly creature, but when he looked again he saw it was mostly white and really small. Trying to calm down Jacob reached for the object and succeeded in grabbing it. Pulling it up to see it better he got a good look at it. To his shock it was the Big Daddy doll that seemed to be stalking him.
Before Jacob could do or say anything he felt something grab his ankle, he screamed as something pulled him down. He succeeded in latching onto the raft but that only held for a few seconds before the thing pulling him under pulled sharply.
Suddenly he was underwater. He could see the moon shining from below the water. His lungs began to burned for air, his eyes stung from the sea water, and his ankle hurt from whatever was pulling him lower and lower. Then all of a sudden the pulling stopped, his eyes and ankle didn't hurt anymore, and he felt rather nice before everything suddenly went dark.
To be continued...