Dead Serious

On the Top of The World

"We're going over the soldier's code. This will be easier for some of you than others." Carter said, the next day in training. He glared at Jacob, who grinned back.

"A soldier returns to his base. He protects Baltia. She is loyal to Baltia. He reports his injuries. She will not abandon her post. A soldier doesn't hesitate to shoot the infected. A soldier must be willing to die. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

Wasn't that Star Trek?

I mindlessly repeated what Carter said. Even he didn't seem to care about the oath. I knew he was a scientist, merely filling in for a sick soldier. Still, he did his job.

"This is so boring." Jacob leaned over and whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

I nodded. "Yeah but there's not much we can do about it."

He smirked, eyes alight with mischief. "We could blow this popsicle stand."

"I'm not going to jail with you again."

"I don't plan on going back. Lighten up, Locke." His humor was almost infectious.

"There's too few people for us to sneak out without being noticed." I hissed.

"Follow my lead."

Jacob straightened up, launching his hand into the air. "We need to us the bathroom!"

Everyone turned to look at us. I groaned into my hands, having been completely mortified in mere seconds. Carter cocked his head, curiously at us.

"Both of you?"

"...Yes." Jacob offered no further explanation.

Carter blinked at us. Then he sighed. "Whatever. Take a right down the hall. Just don't leave the building."

"Aye aye, captain!"

Jacob grabbed me by the hand and dragged me down the hall. He nearly succeeded in dragging me into the boy's bathroom but I dug my feet into the floor.

"I'm not going in the guy's room. It's probably smelly and disgusting and-"

"It's got a window and a ledge we can use to climb to the roof." He interrupted.

"Well maybe the girl's does too." I huffed.

I pushed the door open, revealing that, it in fact, did. He rolled his eyes.

"Fine, princess, if you must be so picky. You know guys go in the men's room all the time without complaint."

"Yeah and that's the whole problem. They make it smell like that." I teased back.

Scaling the side of the building was easier than I thought. The ledges were easy to grab a firm hold of and in no time I was helping Jacob onto the roof.

A thin board connected the training center to the laboratory where we had met Dr. Soyara Khan. Jacob teetered across it, careful not to fall while still making a playful show of it. I followed him.

"Ahhh don't you just love autumn in a dictatorial apocalyptic nightmare wasteland?" Jacob sighed, faking contentment as he sat down on the building's ledge.

I snickered. "Yeah it's great. Absolutely."

"You know... I'm really disappointed there's not going to be a Halloween this year. Not really."

"I get that. Usually it's my favorite holiday." I said.

"Mine too!" Jacob shifted, excitedly to look at me in a more direct way. "But I'm guessing you're more treats and I'm more tricks."

"Hey don't assume. Makes an ass of you and me." I grinned. "I loved pranking my friends and neighbors with harmless Halloween pranks. Like there was this one year where I..."

I trailed off.

It was all gone.

"Hey, we'll never be happy again if we keep remembering what we left in the past. We have to remember that it happened and it's over and there's a new chapter to write. Living in a dead past won't make a happier future." He bumped his shoulder into mine, playfully.

Well he had a point. But logic doesn't make things better instantly.

I forced a smile. "You're right."

Jacob watched me, like really watched me, afternoon light streaming on his face. His smile softened.

"Why did the banana go to the hospital?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't know. Why?"

"He wasn't peeling well. Get it?"

I attempted to groan at his horrid word play, but instead a few snickers escaped. His good nature was so hard to resist some times. I masked my laughter with a cough.

"You're ridiculous, you know that?"

"Better than being serious all the time. I'm cracking you. I know it."

"I'll let you believe that." I winked.

We gazed out over Baltia. It wasn't a beautiful view by any means, but it was an interesting one and far more attractive than any other view in the walled city. A small garden laid near the laboratory, full of colorful plants. One of the few patches of green among a sea of gray.

"So we get out of prison and then what?" He asked.

"We have to get in prison first. Which I'm not doing." I reminded him. He could drag me to the roof but he would not drag me down."

"I was talking about Baltia. Just in general. What's your plan after you find your brother?" He asked. A curious light twinkled in his hazel eyes, so true and genuine, as if he really cared to know.

"I don't know. Get somewhere safe, I guess. Maybe I'll stay with my uncles. I just haven't thought that far ahead yet." I shrugged. In that instant I felt like gazing out anywhere, besides looking him in the eyes. I scanned Baltia for something interesting to observe.

"You could come with me." His tone was softer than I expected. Then he perked up. "Come on, we all know we've grown fond of each other. And I'm sure your bro will fit right in."

To be honest, I was distracted while he spoke. My eyes had rested upon a girl- too far away to see her features, but her hair- her blonde hair- reminded me of Annie.

My heart suddenly ached.

What if... What if Nicole was right? What if Jacob got himself killed by being his careless, free-spirited self? Was I going to risk putting myself through that all over again?

I remembered my dad's face. Bloodied, his glasses askew. I shivered.

"Okay, you're clearly thinking too much again." Jacob glared at me.

"No I'm not!" Which was absolutely a lie.

Jacob stood up, offering his hand. "Yes you are. We're trying to have fun here. You can't think about the past. Just the present. Maybe the future if you're optimistic, which you are not."

I took his hand, a smile playing at my lips. It was how he said it, how obviously he knew me already.

"Okay we have all of Baltia to explore. Where do you wanna go? We've gotta get you in a better headspace and we have all of Baltia to explore."

"Why don't you, lead the way?" I smiled.

"You two aren't supposed to be here!"

We heard a voice exclaim. Our heads snapped around. Spotting two large, scary men had appeared on the other roof.

"Shit!" I failed at trying to keep the laughter out of my voice. Jacob laughed too.

"Time to go!" Jacob took off in a sprint.

We were caught.

I surprised myself by not giving a damn.

I like this chapter. Always have. It didn't turn out quite as expected but I hope you still enjoyed! Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading!