Jakob woke up screaming. He looked around; he was in the forest, but not under attack or anything. His dark brown hair was no longer shoulder length but cropped short. That nightmare had felt so real…he shuddered at the thought of it. Well, part of it was real though, wasn’t it?

His world had been flipped upside-down when his home town came under attack by them…who were they anyways? They had come in the night, no warnings, nothing, just came and attacked, killing mercilessly. They had seemed human at least, but were they? He didn’t know, and frankly he didn’t want too, he just wanted to live! Was it so much to ask for? Maybe. Jakob didn’t know and probably never would...

He sat up and looked around; James was still lying where he had fallen asleep after collapsing from exhaustion. They had run so far…another shudder echoed through Jakob’s body. In his mind he watched as his father and mother were killed before his eyes. His father had sacrificed himself to save Jakob…Then there had been the car crash, then he and James had run into the forest.

He felt as if it were happening all over again and his stomach wretched as he pictured the corpses of friends and loved ones spread across his home town. He pushed himself to his knees and vomited. It was more than any seventeen year old should be expected to handle, yet he and James had kept going, or did something else push them?

So many questions unanswered! Jakob pushed himself onto his feet. Anger boiled up in him like lava in a volcano. He spun and punched the tree. He felt the skin of his knuckles split, revealing tender flesh. He didn’t care anymore though, all this pain and suffering. He wished it would all end, then and there! He sat down and mulled over his thoughts some more while sucking on his bloody knuckles.

Tomorrow he and James would be on the move again, their goal? Get as far away as possible. He lay down once more, using a balled up sweater as a pillow. He thought of what his father would have said to him if he was still alive? Survive…I didn’t sacrifice myself so you could die in a blaze of fire or commit suicide! The words seemed somewhat hollow in Jakob’s head though. He rolled onto his side and closed his eyes. Well, hopefully, this was as low as they could go, any lower or he would commit suicide. Sleep claimed him almost immediately and greeted him with more nightmares…