The Many Lives of Jack Wells, page 17
Even so, it was pretty rare for me to be the only one in there. Quite often, a few other inmates had the same idea as I did.
This particular morning, I found myself as the only one in the showers. I smiled to myself as I undressed and climbed in, closing the shower curtain behind me. We did have individual stalls, which was a fantastic thing. I had heard that many other prisons just had completely open showers where everyone stood there together. I shuddered just thinking about what that would be like.
As I stood there, soaking up the steaming water, I thought about my case. To be truthful, I rarely thought about anything else. There was nothing else to think about. It was the reason I found myself in the predicament I was in, and I was the only one that was going to get myself out.
I was barely aware of someone else entering the bathroom area. I never really paid much attention when other people came in. I just wanted to be left alone and enjoy my shower. There was a bit of shuffling around, which was expected, and I continued with what I was doing.
Before I realized what was happening, I was startled out of the moment when the shower curtain was yanked to the side. I spun around, slamming my hand on the hot shower handle. I paid no attention, except to cradle it in my other hand.
“What the hell is going on here?” I blurted out, without forethought.
There were three prisoners standing there looking at me. All I could see was hatred on their faces. For just a moment, I searched my mind for why these particular three people would be there. As far as I could remember, I had no beef with any of them. However, I didn't remember the previous 11 years of my time in prison. Maybe I had had multiple run ins with each of them.
Did that matter now though? No…not a bit. All three were holding some sort of weapon in their hands. Something sharp and homemade looking. I backed into the corner of the shower, not really knowing how that would help. It was instinct though. Back away from danger. Put some distance between myself and the threat.
“Clear!” a voice said from somewhere near the entrance to the bathroom.
Before I had a chance to say a word, to ask why they were doing this, or to defend myself, they pounced. All three jumped into the shower and began stabbing me.
The sensation was unlike anything I had ever felt before. At first, there was no pain. All I felt was something pressing against my flesh. But I knew I was being stabbed, though I didn't really feel it. There was blood. A lot of blood.
Then the pain came. And when it did, it was horrific. It was the worst thing I had ever felt in my life. In any of my lives. Even when the sheriff and his deputies put several bullets into me, I didn't feel the pain I was currently feeling. I thought my insides were on fire and were going to spill out all over the shower floor. No one had bothered to turn off the water, so we were all soaked as I watched out of the corner of my eye, my blood pouring down the drain.
Oh, I tried to fight. It was of no use. It was three against one and they were armed. I was not.
“This is for Lonnie,” one of them said.
I didn't even have a chance to comprehend what that meant as I fought for my life.
In under 30 seconds, they were gone. Their weapons abandoned on the bloody shower bottom. I couldn't stay upright and my knees sunk to the shower floor. I tried to cover the wound with my hands, but it was of no use. There were too many of them. I would not be exaggerating when I say that I was probably stabbed 50 or 60 times in those few seconds. I was not going to make it out of that shower alive.
As I laid there, bleeding to death, I wondered who was involved in the murder of those boys. It was almost certainly someone involved in stabbing me. They had secrets to hide, and those secrets would probably go to the grave with me. I would not have a chance to identify any of them, even though I had no idea who they were.
I wondered if I would have the chance to live again. Or would this be my last life? And if I did come back, would I be young enough to do something about it the next time, or would I find myself in prison again? That thought horrified me. If I found myself in prison again, there was no way I would stay.
I started to feel dizzy, and lightheaded, knowing that my life was coming to an end shortly. Once again, my family would have to live with my death. At least I thought so. Maybe they didn't. I have no way of knowing if their lives continued after I was gone.
I took one last deep breath and everything went dark.
Part 5
Chapter 1
I gasped for air and clutched my midsection where I had been stabbed multiple times. The pain was almost unbearable. Opening my eyes, I expected to find myself on the floor of the shower stall at the prison, with the water beating down on me. But that's not what I found.
I was in my bedroom at home. The room was awash in sunshine. I turned toward the window and found that the blinds were all the way open. It looked as if it was late morning. I sat up abruptly.
It had happened again. I died in that shower stall at the prison and woke up here in my bedroom. I was happy to be alive and out of prison, but I wondered when it would ever stop. Would I ever be able to just lead a normal life, and die like a normal person? And stay that way?
Before I had a chance to think too much about it, I jumped up to go take a look in the mirror. I hesitated before I looked at my face. I seemed too tall to be a young child, so I must be around the same age as I was previously. Turning, I peered at myself. I looked to be 18 or 19 years old. That was a good thing. Now I just needed to find out exactly how old I was, and what the date was. I had no idea how much time I had before all hell broke loose. Once again.
No matter what happened in this life, I would do anything and everything I possibly could to make sure I did not go to prison again this time. It was just something I couldn't do again. I made that vow to myself.
I jumped at the pounding on my bedroom door.
“Jack! Mom said to come down for breakfast.”
I smiled at the sound of Georgie's voice. I couldn't wait to see her. It seemed like it had been so long. Yet, in my reality, it had been just a very short time. Days really.
“Jack! Are you up?” she called once again.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m up. I’ll be right there.”
Five minutes later I entered the kitchen and stood in the doorway smiling at my family. My mother and my sisters were all sitting at the table enjoying some pancakes and orange juice.
“Why are you standing there smiling like a freak?” Harper asked me.
All eyes turned toward me and I could feel the heat rising in my neck.
“Oh, sorry. It’s nothing,” I told them, taking my usual seat at the table.
Suddenly I was famished. I stacked my plate high with pancakes, spreading several pats of butter on them, and drenching them with syrup.
“Geez, Jack, save some syrup for the rest of us,” Harper spouted.
I didn’t care if my sister smarted off to me. Just being in the kitchen with my family was the best thing that had happened to me in what felt like a really long time. It can feel that way when you are in prison.
Ignoring Harper’s remark, I turned to my mother. “What’s the date?”
“It’s Founder’s Day today,” Georgie responded before my mother had a chance to. “We are going to the picnic in a little while. Did you forget?”
My face blanched. I turned to the calendar on the wall just to verify the year. Yep, it was the right year.
I looked down at my pancakes, hoping that my family didn't notice the look of terror on my face. Today was the day. The day those boys would all be killed. I had no idea what to do. If I repeated my steps from the last time this happened, then I would get arrested and convicted. I didn't know how to stop the killings. Nothing I did ever seemed to work. Maybe I should just go over to the ravine and check it out, I thought.
If I stayed at home, I might have a better chance of not being accused of killing them. If I was nowhere around them, they couldn't think I had anything to do with it. But I couldn't do that. I couldn't just sit there at home and let it all happen. I was the only one that had a chance to save those boys. It was all up to me and I knew it. No one else knew what was going on and no one else could save them.
Well, I would do what I had to do.
“Jack, Honey, are you okay?” my mother asked.
I turned and looked at her. The concern on her face was obvious.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry. I was just thinking about something that I need to do.”
I wolfed down my pancakes and hurried to my bedroom. I quickly got dressed, and headed back for the kitchen. My family was still sitting at the table eating breakfast.
Standing in the doorway, I motioned for my mother to come into the living room so we could talk. She obliged.
“What’s going on with you, Jackie. You are acting strangely.”
“I know. I’m sorry. But I need to tell you something.” I knew she would understand.
“Okay, what is it?”
“I don’t have the time to go into much detail, but I need to tell you that I’m reliving my life over and over. And, I just died yesterday and woke up here today.”
I stood back, waiting for her reaction. She did not disappoint. The look on her face was a combination of shock and understanding all at the same time.
“Oh, Jackie. You know it happened to me back when I was a teenager…”
I put my hand up and interrupted her. “Yeah, Mom, I know. That’s why I’m telling you now. We have had this conversation before, and you told me everything. But I don’t have time to talk about it now. I have some boys to save from being killed.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Okay, I understand. What can I do to help?”
“I need you to call the sheriff and tell him to meet me at the ravine. You know, the one where Beau and I used to go all the time to play,” I explained.
She nodded. “Yeah, I know where that is. What is the sheriff going to find when he arrives?”
“Well, hopefully he finds me talking with those guys and everything is fine.” I thought for a moment. “Wait about a half hour before you call the sheriff though. I need to go check things out first. I don’t want him arriving right away and finding me standing there with the bodies of those guys. That could get me into more trouble than you want to know about. Can you do that?” I asked.
“Yeah, I can do that. But are you sure that Sheriff Dunne shouldn’t just go with you? And who are the boys that are in danger?” she asked.
I shook my head with determination. “No, he definitely should not go with me. And I’ll tell you all about the boys and everything when this is over. Okay? I just don’t have time now.”
If I survived this, that is. I thought it, but I did not say it to my mother. She would understand, I'm sure, but I just couldn't do that to her. I didn't want her to think there was any possibility that I wouldn’t make it out of this alive.
“Yeah, okay, we can talk later,” she responded. I was pretty sure that she could see the urgency of what I needed to do.
“I gotta go,” I told her, turning toward the front door.
My mother took my arm and spun me around to face her. “Honey, please be careful. I know what can happen, and though I know you are trying to save someone, you have to save yourself too. Believe me. I’ve been there.”
“I know you have. And I will be careful. I promise,” I told her, leaning over and kissing her on the cheek. “I love you.”
She nodded my way. My mother couldn't say anything. I could see that she was trying her best not to cry.
I took one last look at her face. “Half an hour,” I said over my shoulder as I walked out the door.
Chapter 2
Jogging toward the ravine, I knew I would be heading right past Beau’s house. I debated stopping and asking for his help. Would he really be helpful? Or would I be spending a bunch of time trying to explain all of this to him? He would have no clue as to what was going on. I know sometimes I told him, but in other lives I did not. In all of those lives, having Beau around did nothing to help the situation.
And the fact that he was killed in my last life made me slow down as I neared his house. I really did want to see him, but was torn as to what to do.
I decided to stop in front of his house for just a moment to contemplate my next move. It could be extremely helpful to have him there with me. Maybe. If nothing more, at least he could be a witness to the events. The sheriff might never believe me, but having Beau there could be the difference between me going to prison and not. But would I be putting Beau in danger? What if the killer was standing there with a gun? We had been shot before, so it was not out of the realm of possibility that it could happen again.
Not having the time to really consider all of the possible outcomes, I decided that having Beau’s help could be exactly what I needed. I turned and ran up the steps of his house, knocking urgently on the door.
His mother answered. “Hi Jack. I’ll get Beau.” She didn’t wait for me to ask. There was no other reason I would be there.
I paced on the front porch while I waited for Beau to show up. It seemed to take him forever, but was probably only a couple of minutes in reality. My heart was racing in my chest. Just as I was about to leave, he showed up.
“It’s about time,” I snapped, when he finally made an appearance.
“What? I didn’t know you were coming over.”
I was sure that the annoyance in his voice was just a response to me snapping at him. But I didn't have time to sort all that out.
“Come on. I need your help with something,” I ordered.
I started down his steps and toward the street. He followed, closing the front door behind him.
“Wait. What’s going on?” he asked, staying right on my heels.
“I’ll tell you on the way. Hurry up,” I urged.
As we jogged out toward the ravine, I explained to Beau what was going on. I didn't have time to worry about whether he would believe me or not. I explained how I was reliving my lives and how it was up to us to save those boys. For the last time hopefully.
He stopped abruptly. I followed suit. “Wait, you’re what?” His eyes were wide.
“I know, I know. I sound crazy. But yes, I’m reliving my lives. It’s all true.” I looked toward the forest. “Can we discuss this later? I promise to explain it all in detail. But right now, we have a more pressing issue.”
I didn't wait for his response, turning and running right into the forest. I heard him on my heels.
I continued with my story and told him that we had maybe a half hour before the sheriff showed up. I had instructed my mother to send him out there. But I wanted a little bit of time to see if I could handle it before he showed up. Besides, if it had already happened, and those boys were lying there dead, the last thing I needed was for the sheriff to show up and find us with the bodies.
However, my mother was already going to call him. If those boys did turn up dead, I had no idea how I was going to get out of it. But that had to wait. I had time later to figure that out, if I needed to.
I didn't have much time to contemplate it all. But I was pretty sure Lonnie was the killer. It just made sense. After he visited me in prison, it was the only conclusion I could come to.
What I couldn't figure out was why or how he was killed in the lives when they all died. Something different happened then, but I didn't know what it was yet. Something changed. It might have even been something I did to cause it. But that would be something to contemplate later on. When all of this was done.
Several minutes later, we heard voices off in the distance as we approached the ravine. I stuck my arm out and stopped Beau from running head on into danger.
“Stop. Wait,” I whispered to him. “Someone is down there. Come on, we can get a better look from over there.”
I pointed toward some bushes near the edge of the ravine. It wasn’t until we reach those bushes and I got behind them that I realized those were the very bushes we were hiding in when Danny's father killed us in that other lifetime. Would I be stupid enough to repeat the exact same actions as before? It appeared that I was.
“Wait, you know what? Let’s go over behind those trees.” I pointed to another spot several yards away. “We can probably get a better look over there.”
Beau nodded and we skulked over to the trees, hunching down as we did so. Though I was pretty sure that there was no way any of them could see us from their position at the bottom of the ravine.
We looked at each other with wide eyes when the voices raised, carrying in the air high above us. Something had changed. There was an urgency in their voices. I could tell it wouldn't be long now.
Oh, why hadn’t I thought to bring a weapon with me? Probably because I never really took the time to think my actions through. I just jumped head on into trying to solve this never ending problem of mine.
Chapter 3
“I’m tired of the way you two treat me. I’m tired of being the one that gets put down. You always gang up on me,” we heard Lonnie say with a high pitch to his voice. “I'm not going to let you do it anymore.”
Beau turned to me and whispered. “Is he saying that he was the one bullied? Is he freaking kidding me? After the way he has treated us all these years?”
I patted the air with my hand. “You need to be quiet. We can’t let them hear us,” I told him. I kept my voice so low that he barely heard me, even though we were only a foot apart.
I moved out from behind the tree and leaned over to get a better look into the ravine.
“Put that down, Lonnie. We can talk about this.” It was Carlos speaking that time. He was standing in front of his friend, Danny. It was a protective gesture and I could see that Carlos wanted to make sure that Danny was all right.
Lonnie was holding a baseball bat and swinging it around, taking practice pitches. Danny and Carlos had no weapons in their hands. There was no reason for them to. I'm sure it never dawned on them that Lonnie would turn on them.
