Jack glanced up the clock above the kitchen doorway,
‘What..? Why didn’t you wake me up sooner? Now I am not going to get any breakfast!’ scowled Jack.
‘Jack you’re 15, you should be responsible for getting up in time for school? I need to go to work, I will see you at four o’clock. Have a good day love.’
Jack’s mum kissed her son on the cheek, Jack pulled away from his mum slightly, still angry with her.
Jack quickly eat his eggs and munched on his toast before grabbing his school books and swiftly made his way out of the house.
The cool winter air was a shock to his system. The bus stop was about two hundred metres away from Jack’s house. At that moment Jack noticed his bus slowing up for the stop.
Jack cursed to himself and began running towards the bus being careful not to slip on the icy pavement. He needed to cross the road in order to get to the bus. When he was crossing the road he took a deep breath, happy he had almost made it to the bus. Then without warning a white delivery van, headed straight for Jack. The driver braked ferociously but unavoidably skidded out of control and directly collided with Jack. The impact sent Jack flying to the pavement by the road. Jack lay motionless at the side of the road, blood rushing from his nose and mouth.
Total darkness engulfed Jack. Unsure of what had just unfolded; Jack tried to open his eyes to no avail. Darkness. The clear scenic morning sky had disappeared. The whooshing of passing cars is no longer audible. Jack could no longer feel the heavy weight of his school bag pushing down on his shoulder.
Jack was completely pain free but terror overwhelmed his mind. Jack racked his brain, trying to remember how he arrived at this place? Jack wondered if he was dead, but soon dismissed that idea because his brain was working. He thought to himself, ‘If I can think surely I am alive. Where am I?’
Jack contemplated that he was in a waiting room between life and death. Jack imagined he was being cared for in an ambulance at least, that someone was keeping him in the land of the living.
It seemed Jack had been trapped in this place for an eternity. The companionless darkness daunted Jack. He feared that he could be lost here until his brain stops working like the rest of his body. Jack was hoping and expecting his alarm to ring at any second to waken him up from this nightmare. But no alarm sounded. The silence was deafening.
At this point Jack began to panic,
‘Will I every see the light of day again, eat pepperoni pizza or play football with my mates,’ considered Jack.
‘Why have my senses and body forsaken me?’ ‘Will I just be left here for infinity in this forsaken no man’s land?’
Jack having lost his hope of escaping this infernal place made three promises to himself.
‘If I ever escape I promise to never be late for school. Always appreciate my mother and keep my bedroom tidy.’
‘If anyone is up there let me live again!’ begged Jack.
All of a sudden, Jack spluttered. He felt the cold pavement through his uniform, a man’s voice was saying something near by, and Jack tasted blood swishing about in his mouth. Jack squinted through the bright morning sunlight trying to see where he was. Several figures stooped over the teenager, whispering and muttering.
Gradually coming to, Jack was blissful to be in the real world again, but often thought about the strange place he visited that cold winters morning.
