Jack and Wilson are dead

Chapter 5

Jack ended up staying at the community for longer than anyone had expected, himself included. Some other new tenants arrived after him. The leaders of the community kept a close eye on the fresh meat. The short lady Jack had met on his first day, whose name he had yet to learn, had the task of watching over him as Jack stitched people up. As time went on, Jack gained everyone's trust, even that of the short lady, who went back to her tasks at hand. He got along with the people of the community, who never seemed to stop thanking him for his medical expertise, and he felt at home, for once forgetting all his troubles and haunting memories.

One morning when the sky seemed darker than any morning before, a little girl, who was strikingly similar to Jack's daughter both in looks and character, came running towards him excitedly, yelling his name and flailing her arms around wildly. When she stands in front of him she opens her right hand and proudly shows him one of her front teeth, that had fallen out during the night. Jack smiled at her in response, ruffling her hair, the childlike innocence warming his heart. 'You're a big girl now', he said to the hyperactive child, who nodded in agreement before running off again. Smiling at her fading backside, Jack made his way towards the make-shift hospital, which had officially become his workplace.

He spent the day checking up on his patients. Luckily no one came to him with new injuries. Later that same dark day, an exploration group returned to the community, bringing with them some new supplies as well as another new tenant, who was wounded and in dire need of medical support. Not only the new tenant was wounded, the biggest guy of the bunch and the leader of the exploration group was also injured. Jack, who was still at work, had no idea of the group arriving and he was surprised when two unknown and wounded men suddenly appeared in front of him. He got to work quickly, starting with the big guy who introduced himself to Jack as one of the leaders of the community. It didn't take Jack very long to fix the man, who kept questioning him during the procedure, up.

Afterwards he turned to the other man, who seemed quite old and whose body was slender, and repeated the process of checking him, before beginning to lap him up. The big guy was standing in the corner, observing Jack's every move. Suddenly he spoke up, telling Jack to meet him tomorrow morning at six sharp so he could be introduced to the other members of the exploration group. Before Jack could reply, the big guy walked outside through the curtain, which separates the hospital ward from the rest of the building, leaving Jack to silently continue his work.

'Meet the crew', the big guy said, motioning to five other guys lined up behind him. He introduced them name by name and one by one they came up to Jack and shook his hand. 'And lastly there's Don Swanson', the big guy said, pointing at the last guy in the row, 'the best gunman we have, so be careful with him', he added with a wink. 'Hello mate, I'm Don, but you can call me Donnie', Don said, stretching his hand out towards Jack. Jack accepted Don's handshake, his mind going over a hundred miles per hour. The man in front of him seemed somewhat familiar, although Jack couldn't quite put his finger on it. 'That's a nice looking gun you've got there', Jack said, his eyes trained on the revolver sticking out of Don's holster. 'Do you like it', Don replied, taking the gun out. 'It's my most prized possession. My old man left it behind before he, you know, passed away. You may take a look at it, if you want,' Don said, holding the gun out towards Jack, who silently accepted it.

He could see his own reflection in the shimmering silver barrel, which looked like it had been cleaned very often. The grip of the revolver was decorated with an intricate design, depicting a blooming rose surrounded by thorns. The gun also felt somewhat familiar.

It was just another cold day. Jack was walking around the city, looking for a relatively warm place to set up camp. A shrill laugh filled the air, coming from his youngest child, who was running around the street, being chased by his older sister. The two seemed very happy, unaware of the grave situation they were in. Jack's food supplies were running dangerously low and he knew his kids were hungry, so he hastily tried to find some supplies in the buildings they passed, making sure to keep an eye on his kids. After his wife's passing, Jack took solace in their laughter. They spent hours looking around the city. Just when Jack was about to give up, he found a suitable building. He told his children to wait outside, giving his daughter the mission to make sure her brother won't run away. She nodded, grabbing her brothers arm lightly. Quietly, she started to tell him some jokes in order to distract him, which, to Jack's surprise, worked wonders. The boy stood in place laughing loud enough for the whole city, or what was left of it, to hear.

Jack quickly went inside and scouted the building, making sure there was nothing inside that could potentially hurt his offspring. Suddenly, instead of laughter, he heard a gunshot and his son's panicked screams. Alarmed, he sprinted outside, only to see his daughter lying on the ground, blood staining her clothes. She was crying heavily, strained breaths leaving her parted and bloodied lips. On the ground next to her, Jack saw his son's body, also covered in blood. The boy's little body wasn't moving anymore and his eyes were staring at the sky lifelessly.

He rushed to his daughters side, but it was already too late. His daughter pointed somewhere, before closing her eyes forever. As Jack turned around, he saw a man, who was slowly backing away. In his right hand he held a revolver, which was still smoking.

Sweating heavily, Jack woke up. The face in his nightmares, which was more like a painful reminder of the past, the revolver... There was no doubt he had seen them this very morning. He turned around in his bed. Don was going to pay for his actions.