Survival of the Soul

Chapter 8: Collapse

     "Jacob, you're with me." Colt says, waving him over. Jacob kisses Abby's head and sets her on the ground with Frankie, Tony, Grace, and Nick.
     "What are we doing?" He asks, catching up with Colt
     "We're going into the plane. We need supplies, it's our only choice."
     "Wouldn't Isaac or Jerry be better for moving supplies?" Jacob asks.
     "The plane isn't stable, and you're smaller than the others. Oh, and because I said so. Let's go."

     "Tell me about yourself, Katie. We've been hanging out all week and I hardly know anything about you." Jerry says, rolling onto his side to face her.
     "There's nothing to tell. I lost my father at seventeen, my mother at twenty, and my brother two weeks ago. I'm going into my last year at veterinary school, and that's it. There's nothing else, not really."
     "There's gotta be. What about, oh, I don't even know anymore." Jerry laughs.
     "There's nothing more." She says, rolling onto her back. When she rolls back over, she's face to face with Jerry, her lips brushing his. He closes his eyes and let's her kiss him, giving her all the control. She pulls herself on top of him, a leg on either side.
     He goes with it, not doing anything expect rub her tighs. He's so relaxed he doesn't notice when she goes limp, just laying on him. "Hmm, Katie. Whatcha doing?"
     When he sits up she falls to the side, him catching her. While grabbing her his hand lifts up her shirt, showing him the purple bruise up her side. "Jesus Katie, what happended to you? Don't worry, I got you. I'll get you help." He promises, scooping her up in his arms and kissing her head. "I got you."

     Nessie lowers herself onto the edge of the rock, tracing her toes along the water's surface. She rubs circles around her stomach, her bump starting to cause more problems than usual. "Easy there baby, Mommy's not feeling too good. It's gotta be all that wiggling you were doing. I can't wait to meet you, I bet you're gonna be beautiful. I really wanna know if you're a boy or a girl, but that doesn't so much as if you're gonna be happy and healthy.
     Ow, easy there. I was just about to start talking about Colt. I think he's your grandpa. I really hope he is, cause he's nice. He loves us, even if he doesn't know for sure that we're his, he still loves us. I bet he's hoping you're a boy. I kinda am too, just a little. I'd love for you to be a girl too. I'd do your hair, dress you up, get you anything you wanted. I have so much I wanna do for you, so much I never got.
     I bet Colt would've given me anything. He would've been the best dad ever. I can just imagine it, no, no I can't. I can't imagine what it's like to have a dad, any family really. I wish I did.
     Do you think Colt will accept us? I hope he does, cause I don't want you to grow up without a family neither. It was hard, too hard. Your daddy and the others were the only family I ever had, and they don't really count as family. Family doesn't do what they all did. Your dad's not a family man, you deserve more. You desereve Colt. I deserve Colt. I didn't hurt nobody when I was left, I was just a new little baby and my mom dumped me. I deserve my dad, I'd like my mom too, but the whole dumping me thing.
     What do you think little on- Baby? No no no, not now." Nessie cries, holding her stomach and panting. "Okay, okay. Let's go back to the group, Grace, Katie, and Colt will help us. Just you wait. I'm gonna get us back and then you can come out." She says, barely getting her whole body onto solid land before giving up. "Don't do this to me, please don't make me do this alone."

     "So, you're a detective? You like it?" Jacob asks, passing Colt a small bottle of pills from a suitcase he's pulled down.
     "Homicide. I like it enough. It's not everything I dreamed of, but solving a case is rewarding. I don't really wanna talk about my work, it's not a fun topic. What about you, tell me about that cute kid."
     "Oh, Abby's great. She's just the sweetest little thing. I love her so much. She's honestly my whole world. You got kids?" Jacob asks.
     "Yeah, a daughter. She's twenty two." Colt tells him.
     "That it?" He asks.
     "Yeah. I don't know anything else for sure. Her mother didn't tell me about her, then gave her up for adoption. I found out afterwards. It's just been a mess for the last twenty something years. Every girl I see I always think it could be her. Honestly, I think Nessie may actually be my daughter. She's the right age, she looks like me, and she's looking for her father. It makes sense when you put it on paper. It must be so good to know for sure that Abby's your daughter."
     Jacob looks up, a half smile on his face. "Abby's isn't my daughter." He tells Colt. Colt swallows and takes a step towards Jacob, the plane making an unsettling settling sound.
     "God damn it, run!" Colt yells, giving Jacob's shirt a tug, pulling him to his feet.

     Isaac glances up at Elaine, trying to win her with his smile. She groans and looks away, making sure to stick out her backside to show him what he's missing. He stares, soaking in her body. A sound gets both their attention, and everyone else's.
     The plane fuselage splits in two, the halves collapsing in on each other. "Colt and Jacob are inside!" Grace screams, holding Abby against her chest as the girl squirms, trying to run to where she'd seen Jacob heading.
     Isaac makes a run for it, jumping over shrapnel and mounds of displaced sand, disappearing into one end of the fuselage. Elaine cries out his name, running to catch him and falling into the sand.
     It's only a matter of seconds, but they stretched on for years. Isaac comes out again, dragging one of the men with. He drops the unrecognizable body and rushes back in.
     Grace passes Abby to Nick and leans over the man, wiping off his face. "It's Jacob, he's not breathing." She says, feeling around his neck. Abby kicks and screams, trying to get out of Nick's arms. Grace looks over at her husband, tears in her light brown eyes. "He's dead."
     Abby goes completely limp, giving her a chance to slip out of Nick's arms and get to Jacob, burrying her face in his shirt.
     "Grandpapa?" She asks, shaking him. "Grandpapa? Grandpapa, wake up. Wake up!"
     With their focus on Abby and Jacob's body, no one notices Isaac come back out, another lifeless body in his grips. He let's go of Colt, kneeling in the sand next to him. "Grace, he's still alive. We need to find Katie, he doesn't look so good."
     Grace moves to Colt's side, touching his cheek. "Colt? Carter, can you hear me?" She asks, placing a hand on his chest. "He's still breathing. Where's Katie? Oh, and Nessie. We can't let her see him like this."
     Kayla and Christy come running. "Jerry needs help, there's something wrong with Katie. She just collapsed. What happended?" Christy asks.
     "The plane collapsed. Did you see Nessie?"
     "No. Oh my god, is he dead?" Kayla asks, hiding behind Christy.
     "Jacob is, and Colt will be if we don't do something. Tell Jerry to get Katie here now. Nick, take the kids as far as you can. Elaine get me all the medical supplies we have. Isaac, you can go rest. Jessica, Gillian, I'll need your help with Colt. Mean girl, whatever your name is, you need to help Jerry wake Katie up. And for the love of God, somebody find Nessie, the girl is thirty seven weeks pregnant!"

So, Jacob isn't Abby's father. Colt's not looking too good. And looks like baby Howlett is about to make their grand entrance. Name ideas?