Breaking Point

5- Day 1 6:45 a.m.

I wake Anthony up from his sleep.
        "Gd' morning, Tony," I tell him. His eyes are heavy but look ready for anything. That's a reason why I love him. Always prepared. Maybe it's because I'm here or something else, I don't know, but I still love that about him. I grab our stuff.        
        "Where're we going, J-" he starts. I cut him off. I feel horrible about it, but I don't want Jenna to know who I am just yet.
        "We're scouting the area. Looking for anything that could be of interest to us. Maybe fresh meat." I shrug. "Come on, Tony." He starts the climb down. I follow him. I jump onto the dew-covered grass. A thin veil of mist had settled.
        "It's so pretty," Anthony says. I just nod. I sigh. I take his arm lightly and lead him off into the trees. My pistol is tucked safely under my shirt. I keep a hand near it warily.
        "Anthony, remember, I'm not Jackson anymore. I'm Dusk." He looks at me quizzically. "Okay, I'll tell you about it. Just keep a lookout with me, got it?"
        "Dusk," he says slowly. It sounds weird coming from his mouth, to be honest. I guess I'll have to get used to it too.
        "So, when you were...taken, I ran away because I was so upset. I went to a city a few hundred miles from home. I created a new life there: a young boy named Dusk. I chose Dusk because it's sitting on the fine line of night and day. I feel like I'm on that line except with bad and good. I was a regular civilian during the day and a criminal at night. I didn't have enough to sustain myself. I had to learn to do horrible things. I murdered, kidnapped. I'm guilty about it still to this moment.
        "When I was almost caught, I stayed another day before leaving the town. It had been about four months. I knew I wouldn't be able to stay, but still I was upset. I found another town close to that one. It was small, so nothing about me had gotten to their ears. I stayed there for another year. Then, I was finally caught. They took me to the Eugene jail over in Goldberg. It was horrible, Anthony. They made you do things that were despicable. I had to work for 12 hours every other day and for the days we weren't working we weren't doing anything at all. Just being the entertainment for the mocking guards. It's been years, Anthony. I'm 17 now, you know. I was in that hellhole for 6 years. You don't understand how hard it's been. But I'm here now and that's all that matters, I guess."
        He's silent. He hasn't heard me talk so much or something of the sort, I guess. He doesn't meet my gaze.
        "So you escaped prison?" he says. I nod. I hope Jenna hasn't heard our conversation. "Jack, I'll still love you even though you've done those things. You're my brother. I'll always love you." It's something that makes me want to cry.
        "Thank you, Anthony," I say quietly. "That means a lot to me." I pull him into an embrace. "I love you so much, Tony."
        "I love you too." God, I love this kid. How did I end up with such a great brother? A dirty thought comes to mind and I push it away with a mental smile.
        "Come on we gotta go. We can't stay here forever." We start off again. I point out some good and bad things. Anthony contributes to my talking. I'm laughing at Anthony's joke when I hear Jenna let out a muffled scream.

I hurdle through the trees. I can hear Anthony following me clumsily. I'm too fast. It comes from a year of trying to escape capture. "Jenna!" I yell. "Jenna!" I find the oak tree we were hiding in. A dead body is under the tree. Oh my goodness. She's okay. Jenna is okay.
        "What happened? Are you okay?" I ask when I'm by her side. She nods. She looks like she's almost in shock. "Hey, take your time," I tell her gently. Jenna takes deep breaths.
        "I-I was dozing off again and then I heard someone climbing up the tree. I woke up but not quick enough. He came and tried to kill me. And instinct took over. I reached over and grabbed the gun. I shot him close-range in the chest." Jenna shivers.
        "It's okay. If you hadn't gotten there first he would've killed you." She nods again.
        "Dusk? Can you help me up?" Anthony calls from the ground.
        "Buddy, we gotta move now. I'll throw some of our stuff down and you have to catch it." I grab my bag and chuck it down to Anthony. He catches it with a grunt. We continue until everything is with Anthony.
        "Jenna, are you okay to climb down?" I ask.
        "I-I think so," she says. She tries to get out of the rope and the sleeping bag. I reach over and help her. When Jenna tries to step onto the branch below her, she almost falls.
        "Whoa, whoa," I say. I grasp her arm tightly. She shakes when she tries to go to the next step. I climb down with her. At the bottom, she's gasping. Her bullet wound must be acting up again because she practically falls into my arms. "We'll take a break. It's okay, Jenna." I full out the medical supplies and treat our wounds. After a quick breakfast, we're off.