Jax Harper: Next in Line (Chapter 1: A Rude Awakening)

As our unbeknownst hero walks down a dark Quincy Lane in his holier-than-thou hometown of Shepherd’s Pointe, he is put into an almost trance-like state from hearing the drip-drop of a nearby sewer pipe draining anything but water into Shepherd’s Creek. Jax Harper reaches into his ragged, gray hoodie for his earphones to help drown out the sounds of the night. He puts one in his left ear and continues his trek. “I hate this place,” he thinks to himself while passing yet another strip of bare trees on the way home from his job as a busboy at The Pointe, his grandpa’s restaurant. His family would take Jax there every Friday after school when he was a boy; he always thought it was funny how a place once filled with happy memories could become so gloomy and exhausting to be around.

A powerful gust of wind tears the earphone straight from Jax’s ear when a dark- blue car with no headlights speeds down the hill he is on. “Slow down!” Jax screams, as his heart drops from both fear and anger. He looks back to try and get a read of the license plate. “Too fast to tell,” he mumbles while shaking his head. After a deep breath, Jax turns back around to try and continue his walk home when he suddenly enters the path of a bicyclist, who has nowhere to go except straight. “Watch out!” the biker shouts to Jax, but it’s too late; he was coming right at him, full speed. Jax closes his bright-green eyes as he waits for impact, but instead, he is greeted with yet another blast of wind, when he notices the biker had gone right through him, as if he was not even there.

“What just happened?” Jax says aloud, in hopes someone would answer him, to let him know he is alive. There was no one, though. No one to explain what has taken place here tonight on Quincy Lane. “I just felt that guy’s body phase through mine— No. No, I’m just tired. I worked all day, and I’m sleep deprived, that’s all,” Jax thinks, to try and reason with himself, but not out loud this time. As he looks down to grab his now dangling earbud, he notices an absence of something important— perhaps the most important thing in the world; his mom’s necklace. “The locket! He must have knocked it off of my neck! Oh, no, where is it?” He says in a panic as he sprints back to the spot of the incident. He spends twenty-five minutes searching through bushes and tall grass before eventually giving up. “Okay, Jax. Don’t freak out; you most likely took the necklace off to take a shower this morning. It’s probably sitting at home on the bathroom sink right now.”

Jax bursts through the front door of his family’s three-story mansion, Harper Manor, in a spiral. In another’s eyes, this house was perfect; it has two split staircases leading to the second floor, as well as one giant spiral staircase in the middle leading to the third, it seems as though the space between the floor and the ceiling is endless, beautiful white furniture, plenty of expensive artwork by famous artists; anyone else’s dream home, but not for Jax Harper. To him, it was just a prison, but instead of four dark walls, it’s multiple bright barriers holding in the pain of his past. Perhaps the worst part isn’t what is in the house, but what isn’t; Mom. Maybe, just maybe, the Manor would be much more welcoming with the presence of his mom, waking him up with breakfast, kissing him goodnight as she did every night before she died. Things just weren’t the same as before, and everyone in the house knew it, including Jax’s grandpa, Silas Walker. Grandpa moved in whenever Mom passed and isn’t doing too well; it seems as though he fell ill out of nowhere. It’s a scary thought in Jax’s mind that he might not be there for much longer. Grandpa is the only one he has left, well, unless you count his dad, Benjamin Harper. Ah, yes, Ben Harper; the alcoholic, black cloud of a person who just so happens to be the father of our hero. There has been an unspoken hatred between the two since Mom. Jax almost feels as though his dad blames him for her death, and needless to say, it has not been civil.

Jax throws himself into his immaculate bedroom on the top floor of the Manor and bee-lines immediately to the bathroom. He rummages through every drawer, knocking every last item off of the counter before realizing; no locket. “You have got to be joking!” Jax shouts aloud. He takes a deep breath and begins to pick up the mess he has just made. Cleanliness is very important to him; nothing can be out of place. He got that from his Mother. However, at this moment, he could not gather himself enough to finish cleaning. This was more important; way more important. This particular locket was the last thing Mom had given him before.. Well, you know. Jax almost tumbles whilst darting down the spiral staircase. “Grandpa!” He yells, still only half-way down. “Grandpa!” He shouts again, closer to the bottom this time. He catches a glimpse of his father, Ben, as he glides onto the marble floor. He stops. “Dad, where’s Grandpa?” He asks, in hopes it will release some tension from the air. Ben takes yet another gulp from his ale, and gives Jax nothing more than a dismissive shrug of the shoulders. “Whatever,” Jax says before taking off again.

“Grandpa?” He whispers as he walks into Silas’s bedroom. Jax is suddenly saddened by the sight of his grandfather in bed; once one of the strongest men he’s ever known, now broken down, aging, and nearly hacking up a lung. “Jax,” Grandpa manages to let out in between the coughing. “What’s got you all messed up, my boy?” “How’d you know?” Jax asks, already knowing the answer. “I always know. Here, sit down,” Silas says while gesturing towards the edge of the bed. He makes his way over to his Grandpa and takes a seat. “What’s going on with you?” “I lost it, Grandpa. Mom’s necklace, it’s gone,” Jax sighs, putting his head down. “Are you sure you didn’t just put it down somewhere?” “No, I tore my room apart, and I didn’t see it anywhere.” Silas lets out a slight chuckle. “What’s funny about that?” Jax asks, confused. “Nothing, I’m just having trouble believing you made a mess.” They cackle back and forth before Grandpa’s laughing turns back into coughing. “Alright, son, I’m sure it will turn up eventually. Let your old Grandpa get some rest now.” “You’re probably right. I love you, Grandpa. Goodnight,” Jax says, heading toward the door. When he looks back, Silas is already fast asleep. He gently closes the door and makes his way back up to his room.

“It’s been a long day. I should get some rest if I’m going to work in the morning,” Jax thinks while getting under his blanket. He feels himself drifting into a deep sleep until he’s unexpectedly awoken by water dripping onto his forehead. He opens his eyes only to see the pipes on the ceiling of his basement. This catches him immediately off guard; he jumps to his feet and looks around, when he’s shocked by blurred vision. He rubs his eyes and his surroundings come to be more in focus. He notices a man dressed in black sitting on the folding table, he appears to be putting on gloves of some sort.

It seems like an eternity has passed since he woke up; finally the almost familiar man says, “Oh, you’re up, took you long enough. We’ve got to get going, or we’re going to be late.” Jax is instantly confused by this. He cannot find the words to say, so he inevitably spits out, “Going where? Who are you? Late for what?” “Orientation; you ask too many questions,” says the mystery guy. “Come on, let’s go.” He heads towards the stairs but Jax grabs his arm. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me who you are,” Jax utters, gulping. He feels his body get thrown to the ground and grunts in pain. “Ow!” He exclaims. “Why did you just flip me?! Who are you?” “Like I said, you ask too many questions,” The man says while holding out a hand to Jax. “My name is Aiden; Aiden Pierce.” Jax looks at his hand, still angered, and stands up on his own. “I’m Ja-” He’s cut off. “Jax Harper. I know,” Aiden says, while continuing up the stairs. Jax follows, and continues, “Okay, you told me your name, but that doesn’t actually tell me who you are, or what you’re doing in my basement.” “Well, to be fair, we’re not technically in your basement,” Aiden admits. “They always do this to newbies so they feel more comfortable, or something sappy like that. I don’t really understand it,” he scoffs. They reach the basement door; Jax is dumbfounded when he sees that it is not his house anymore. Instead they are greeted by a dark and unfamiliar alleyway.

They walk into the alley when a goblin-like creature with one eye flies violently towards them. Jax stumbles onto the ground, terrified. Aiden stands unaffected and without even looking, punches the creature so hard it falls instantly to the ground; it seemed effortless. “Damn Grogins,” He keeps walking, not noticing Jax on the concrete. He turns around, “What are you doing? Get up! Did you not hear the ‘we’re going to be late’ part?” He shouts, shaking his head. “And you’re supposed to be the one to save Caligon,” he sneers, mockingly. “What the Hell was that thing?! And what is Caligon?!” Jax shouts, still baffled from the moment before. “That, my friend, was a Krogin; they are obnoxious, screeching, soul-sucking leeches, and my biggest pet peeve. They’re pretty much the mosquitoes of Caligon. I’ll catch you up on the way,” he explains. “No!” Jax exclaims while standing in place. “I’m not walking anymore until you tell me what the Hell is going on.” Aiden smirks and says, “Suit yourself.” He grabs Jax’s arm and starts sprinting straight towards the wall of an abandoned building. “Wait! What are you doing?!” Jax screams. “You didn’t want to walk, so I’m doing things my way,” Aiden says, more smug than before. “Dude, you’re crazy! We’re going to break our skulls!” He shouts, while his heart pounds. He is scraping his feet on the ground, but cannot stop. As Jax braces to crash into the bricks, he shuts his eyes, only to realize that the running has stopped; no impact. He looks up to see a bright white room that resembles a library, but not a single person inside seems to notice them.

The guys eventually turn up to the front of this building, when Jax asks, “Are you ready to tell me what is happening?” Aiden lets out a long sigh whilst looking at the floor; he looks at our soon-to-be hero and says,“Yes, I am, but unfortunately, you’re not ready to hear it.” “What?” Jax asks, now more confused than ever. Aiden seems as if he is going to answer the question, however, what should be words coming from his mouth instead is obnoxious beeping. The more he moves his lips, the louder the sound gets. Jax throws his hands over his ears, squeezing his eyes shut, anything to drown out this overtaking noise. Suddenly, the sound stops; he removes his hands from his head and opens his eyes to reveal that he had never actually left his bed; it was just a dream. “What the-” he lets out before looking over to his alarm clock. “Oh, so you’re the beeping culprit,” he jokes in relief, just before a different kind of panic comes over him. “Shit, it’s eight o’clock! I’m going to be late for work!” He shrieks, leaping out of bed. Jax brushes his teeth, springs into his bus-boy uniform, and dashes out of his room.

Darting down the spiral staircase, Jax comes to a complete halt when he sees his Grandpa standing at the bottom. “Hey, Grandpa, why are you out of bed?” Jax asks, trying to hide the fret in his voice. He knows how much Grandpa hates when he worries about him. “I’m fine, boy. I was just out for a glass of water. Why aren’t you at work?”—“I’m running late; do you need help getting back to bed?” “No!” Silas grunts angrily. “I may be old, son, but I’m far from helpless. Get to work, and stop worrying so much; you’ll get wrinkles.” Jax gives an apologetic nod and heads outside. He pops one earbud in and throws on his grey hoodie, as he does every morning on his walk to The Pointe.

Jax opens the door to the restaurant slowly, attempting to avoid ringing the bells and exposing that he’s not on time. “You’re late!” shouts Red Baker, the manager of the Pointe, and, well, Jax’s boss. “Sorry, Red,” Jax mumbles, while bee-lining for the kitchen. “ I overslept.” As he walks past the counter, Red puts his hand on his shoulder, stopping him from reaching the back. “If you’re late one more time, you’re fired. I can’t keep doing this with you, even if you are the owner’s grandson.” As his boss is threatening him yet again, Jax sees a semi-recognizable face sitting in the corner booth. “Yeah, yeah, it won’t happen again, Red; I gotta get to work.” He says, rushing to the kitchen.

Jax forces his way through the batwing kitchen doors and rests his weight onto the counter and takes an anxious breath before frantically entering the freezer. “Was that the guy from my dream? What was his name, Aiden? No. That’s impossible. Well, I guess it’s not NOT possible, but it’s not probable.” His melt-down is interrupted by Red bursting into the freezer. “Harper, what are you doing in here? I need the corner booth bussed now! We have a party coming in!” —“Right! Ok, I’m going; sorry.” Jax takes a deep breath to help prepare himself for the confrontation, and marches into the lobby. He peers at the booth only to discover that who might have been Aiden Pierce had vanished.

Our hero lets out a sigh of relief before grabbing a bus tub and strolling over to the table. He picks up cup after cup and then plate after plate. “Geez, this guy is messy. How does one person even eat this much?” Jax mutters to himself until he sees something shiny wrapped around the last coffee mug he has to grab. “What is that?” He asks himself while removing the object. He can not believe his eyes when he realizes what it is. His mom’s locket; unharmed. The necklace falls through his fingers and onto the floor. He quickly retrieves it and springs back up to try and spot Aiden out the window, but he is gone. He races for the exit to get a better look, and to his surprise, runs into his dad, Ben. “Dad!” Jax says, startled. “What are you doing here?” “Just because me and your grandpa don’t get along doesn’t mean that I can’t come to his diner. Red makes a killer grilled cheese,” Ben says, with a smile. Jax rolls his eyes and returns the locket to where it was always intended to be, around his neck, before going back to work.

After a long and confusing day, the clock finally strikes eight o’clock P.M.; closing time. Jax walks over to the cash register when he is suddenly stopped by his boss, Red. “Don’t worry about counting the till, I’ll take care of it tonight. Just go home now, son,” he says while laying a sympathetic hand on Jax’s shoulder. Everyone has treated him this way, as if he’s wrapped in bubble wrap, since his Mom passed. At first, it was fun; not having to participate in gym class, free coffees from local cafes, but now, it’s just a daily reminder that his favorite person in the world is gone forever. Our hero gives a kind smile to Red before walking out of the door, hearing that annoying chime bell ring for the last time until tomorrow morning. He puts his headphones in his ears, as usual, and thus begins his fifteen minute trek home.