Castle High

41. Identity - II

"I gotta say, today is a day I would never forget."

Jake exhaled whilst panting as he sunk unto the front porch of the house to catch his breath. As usual, his uncle had taken him for a quick morning jog, or a run rather which consisted of quite fazing exercises. The point of such activities eluded him as he saw no need for them. Uncle Levi sunk into the threshold just beside him also with a wide smile spread across his face.

"If today does stay truly evergreen in your memory, Jake," Levi replied, clasping his hands and peering affectionately into the eyes of his nephew. Despite the rigorous exercise he had undertaken too, his body didn't exude a state of being worn-out or tired. "That would mean we wouldn't be able to achieve anything tangible in the future."

"What do you mean?" Jake asked, dumbfounded.

"If today's exercise stands out amongst others, then that would mean others would only pale in comparison with it and not match up to it." Levi explained, patting Jake lightly on the shoulder. "And that's not the sort of spirit I'm trying to instill here. I want every single one as from today to match up to this one we had, so such exercise would be regarded as regular not evergreen."

Jake's lower jaw dropped in astonishment. "For goodness sake, uncle Levi - I didn't tell you I'd be signing up for the League of Assassins in the future or something. I really do not see the point in all these."

Levi nodded. "You may be right, Jake but you can't seriously tell me we don't do some things in life just for the sheer pleasure derivable. This might seem pointless now, but you don't know what the future holds, Jake. This might come in handy some time."

Handy.

The noise the Jailer's hands made with the cell-lock, jolted him from his brief trance. He was lying, full-length on his bed - thinking, like he had been doing for this past week. It was sever torture to be locked up in a quiet prison, totally void of life and visitors. Although his parents had promised to visit him once every week, and he couldn't actually believe that every minute, hour, and day he spent in the cell - every time he was looking forward to their next visit.

That was how much he craved for company.

Although his thoughts had been drifting somewhere else, lately; they had veered in the direction of his late uncle's demise. He couldn't help it. His uncle was the only person he had known his entire life who suffered a similar chaotic fate like he was currently. Besides, he loved his uncle so much but he had gotten over his death a long time ago. These days his dreams consisted of brief lapses into the past in which he and his uncle spent time together.

Well, he thought of his friends a few times also; Andrew and Joey - his ever supportive friends - who didn't believe the general lie despite not being brought in the fold of the true ruse. He thought of Shelby also. He was greatly worried that the same fate that met everyone who was compromised by the Big Boss might befall her also.

But for some reason, he was convinced she wasn't going to die.

"Young man."

The fierce voice of the jailer rang out and drew Jake's attention once more. He had been completely oblivious to his surroundings in the past minute and hadn't gotten wind of the strange behavior of the jailer. The man whose face was concealed under a police-head gear, had locked the door and closed all the shutters in the cell-room, making the room completely dark. The only source of light that illuminated the cell was a lamp, that hung on the wall by his bed.

The officer was slowly unsheathing his whip, and the action startled Jake. What the hell was he planning? Was he one of the fanatics out there who hated him totally? Was he sent by Big Boss to eliminate him finally, or there was something else he wasn't seeing. Whatever it was it definitely wasn't good.