Jacob looks at the trains. He grows scared. Being conscripted means something might happen - he might die. Jacob looks around, all around are couples hugging and saying their goodbyes; he feels a sore inside of his chest and he knows he has been let down. There is no one to wave him off the platform, it's all about catching the right train. Jacob grows sullen, he rubs his chin, he shuffles his feet; he feels cold, empty, alone;
"This shouldn't be!" he mutters to himself, but a call from the train puts him in action and he moves towards the train with weights on his feet.
On board the train Jacob looks at the crowd around him. All are smiling, but soon their smiles will fade as nerves kick up. They don't know where they are going, or when they will be back, but they will grow nervous once all the excitement has settled down; then it will be too late and they will find it hard to smile.
Ashley looks at Andrew who holds her hand. She feels scared that Andrew might be putting his life in danger; she feels scared that he will be hurt;
"I don't want you to go;" says Ashley.
Andrew shakes his head.
"I have to go;" he tells.
"I don't want you to go;" tells Ashley.
Andrew shuffles his feet and he looks away. There is a feeling somewhere inside of his mind, a dead feeling, a shot; he knows there is panic stuck around it like a bruise waiting to sting, it is then he will not feel so brave.
"I'm sorry you feel this way;" he tells her.
"I don't want you to go;" tells Ashley as a whistle blower calls for the last board.
Andrew looks over his shoulder. He wishes he could stay, but he can't; so he turns back to Ashley.
"I'm sorry;" he mutters. "I have to go;" he adds before he picks up his bag and leaves.
Ashley watches Andrew leave and she turns around with sores inside of her eyes. She wants to grab a needle and thread and write a sign for peace; but it will not do anything but be thrown away and so she runs away from the train and away from the train station with tears dribbling down her face.
Andrew sits down and gives a sigh. He looks out the window and sees no sign of Ashley. He places a hand on the window as cigarette smokes wafts through his nostrils. Andrew turns his head and sees Jacob who smiles at him as he chews on a cigarette. Andrew narrows his eyes.
"Do you mind?" he asks.
"No;" mutters Jacob as he continues to suck on his cigarette.
Andrew exhales, and then he settles into remorse as he watches the train station drag itself away.
Nights and days pass. Jacob tosses and turns in his bed at night, and then he trains and practises drills through the day. There are bombs on his mind, and every time he thinks of war he grows cold as his body grows hot. He turns himself into a machine as he grows scared of going to war, and then he is called into an office where he meets Andrew.
"You two are going to war;" tells the chief.
Both men rolls their eyes.
"Together;" adds the chief.
Both men stiffen as they looks to one another.
"You'll be stationed on an island where you will work on drills and island watch. You will monitor the island, look for dangers and threats, and report anything suspicious;"
Both men nod.
Soon the meeting is over and Andrew and Jacob leave. Jacob is the first to speak.
"That's a mean job to put us on an island;" he mutters.
"I'm fine with the station;" tells Andrew as he blinks. "I just wish it was more then watchmen;" he adds.
"Well maybe we can also do cabin crew;" mutters Jacob.
"Watchmen will be fine, and I will be fine;" tells Andrew as he stiffly turns away to look at his own feet.
"So will I;" mutters Jacob before he moves to smoke a cigarette.
The trip to the island takes twenty hours on ship. When there is takes ten minutes to walk to the cabin where the two men will stay.
Andrew grows a craving for more space and Jacob grows a craving for more cigarettes. Neither get what they want, and soon both men are chewing gum to cure their upsets.
A few drinks at the bar only cure so much restlessness, after one week both are craving to head on home. The island scene isn't active enough, it is just nonchalant. They wish to be back at home where there is the hub keeping eyes awake at night; the activity of a suburb keeps them better company then a barren island.
Jacob is the first to start running, Andrew is the second. Both sprint across the island during the morning, and then they rest is hammocks until the evening where they are invited to free drinks by the pier.
The activity is nice, but then a board of ships come and soon more people flock the island. The next ship brings some women with it, and soon the mood of the island is picked up a little.
Jacob has his chance with a woman named Gretal. She is nice, but her interest fades too often. Jacob sees that her interest is more on Andrew and so he introduces them. The two take off like a rocket, and soon Andrew has a girlfriend where as he has none.
Jacob grows angered that he is so alone. So he gets drunk more often, and he runs for shorter lengths. Jacob grows sullen, and his duties on watchmen look serious where as Andrew is often occupied with love letters which smell like perfume.
Jacob is promoted after smoking half a packet of cigarettes while watching birds flock over the horrizon, and to celebrate he goes to the bar to swig down a few drinks. He shoots himself with bourbon which feels like ice when their 3 mm worth of liquid sails through him. Jacob sweats and he pays his tab, then he leaves with shakes on the inside and sweat on the outside of his body.
The feeling of his skin is more then he can bare, so he stands by an alley to take advantage of a cigarette. Soon he is feeling nauseated, and when he looks over his shoulder he sees not a bin but a pair of shoes. He looks at the shoes, then at a skirt, then at a hairstyle that is twisted with curls. Jacob smiles and he looks around with blurry eyes to see if anyone is watching. There is no one in sight, only the eyes of a taxi driver look over where the woman is hailing it for a drive. The taxi driver moves on with the passengers in the back talking and taking pictures. The woman sighs. Jacob smiles. A pause passes so that Jacob can catch his breath then he grabs the woman and he drags her down the alley.
Jacob looks at Andrew who is asleep on the couch - a days worth of reports sitting on the table without words on it. Andrew wants to kick at Jacob but he just puts his jacket on the reports and moves on to the shower. He has done something dirty, and so he washes himself to get rid of the dirt. Soon he feels clean, and he moves to the kitchen to grab a beer - but his stomach wobbles, and so he grabs a water instead.
Andrew wakes as a knock on the door is head. He gets up and he walks over to the door. There is an officer there who greets him with a nod.
"Reports please;" tells the officer.
Andrew nods and then he moves to the table where the reports sit under a jacket. Andrew throws the jacket off the reports, and then he picks up a pen. He quickly scrawls through one page, before he stuffed all in an envelope and then gives it to the officer. The officer leaves, and Andrew returns to the couch to sleep. He is tired, his brain is heavy, he needs a nap.
"A long waste of time;" mutters Andrew before he moves to go to bed.
A crash is head. Andrew jumps and races out of the cabin, there he meets Jacob who has crawled out from the side of the house to see through the dark.
"There was a cracker sound!" tells Jacob as he raises his brows.
"Then there's something out there!" gasps Andrew before he runs inside to get his keys. "I'll do a quick scan on the beach and then come back!" he yells.
Jacob nods, and he can only watch as Andrew leaves. Jacob stands there still, like a rod, trying to see through the dark. He sees nothing, he hears nothing, he could count the stars. He can only see three, and so he picks up his binoculars to see through the dark more closely. He cannot see a thing, and so he moves to the phone to ring up base.
Andrew parks by the beach. He then looks at the water. It is calm. There is nothing wrong with the water, he could swim in it. Andrew wipes sweat off his brow as he pants.
"What was it?" he asks.
He looks at the water again, and then he heads back to his car before driving off to the other side of the island.
Jacob chews on gum as he watches the dark with a gun in his hand. He hears nothing, he just looks at empty and sees nothing. The world is calm and tranquil, but the sound still echoes inside of his ears. There is something out there, and he waits to see it.
Early morning Jacob wakes. He has fallen asleep and his head feels like cement. Jacob gets out of the chair and he walks inside to see if Andrew is back. Andrew is not back, and so Jacob makes himself breakfast before going out for a run.
Jacob races over the road and by the sand. He sees nothing out of sorts and so he runs some more. Then he spies Andrew who is staring at the sky. At close inspection Andrew is sleeping, and so Jacob rubs his shoulder to wake him.
"Rise and shine!" he calls.
"It's morning?" asks Andrew.
"Sure is!" tells Jacob with a nod.
"I fell asleep!" tells Andrew.
"I won't tell!" tells Jacob. "You can come back to the cabin, I've done a scan, there is nothing unsafe!" tells Jacob before he runs away.
Andrew wipes his brow. He feels pleased that there is nothing wrong, but he feels displeased that there had been a crash and no one knows why. Andrew takes a sip of water he has carried in his car, and then he turns on the radio to continue watch. There is nothing wrong it is as though there had never been cause for alarm.
