Gingerbread Men

This little snippet is from a stand alone book called Gingerbread Men.  It is set in a future where mostly everyone is gone; (like in Steven Kings: The Stand or The movie I Am Legend).  This book is like two stories that are interwoven to make one. the main characters are Jordan Campbell (Doyle) & Jess Campbell.  This snippet is the prologue and tells of the very violent beginnings to their lives.  Jordan and Jess are not a couple in this story except in the prologue.

Gingerbread Men: PROLOGUE

I suppose I should start off with the last thing I can remember from my past... it’s complicated; so I won’t go into great details. I’ll just stick to the main facts, well here we go...

I had been in an on again off again relationship with Jess Campbell for almost three years, when I came home one day to find that he was not alone, no need to say what they were doing, but suffice to say that I blew my top... I called them every name I could lay my tongue to, and then threw them out, the unit was in my name; Jess was sometimes my live in visitor.

I stayed in the apartment for three days, I was too ashamed to face the neighbours, whom I was sure heard every little thing that I had said, I wondered how many of them had known about Jess and my best friend Alyson. Not much went unnoticed in our building, they would never come right out and tell me, but they’d whisper behind closed doors and for me that was enough... anyway I digress so I must return to the facts.

For three days I had wallowed in my own pain at how I could have been so blind, but I had put the three days to good use, I had rid the apartment of anything that would remind me of Jess. I boxed it all up neatly to have it returned, the only thing I destroyed were the pictures that featured the both of us the rest I gave to him. I gave him anything we had brought together only keeping what I knew was mine. It all fit into five boxes.

The funny thing is while I packed those boxes I thought it was strange, almost sad that after three years that’s all we had gotten together. Our lives together fit into those five boxes. I felt a great weight lift off my shoulders during the packing; this was the first time I had ever packed up his stuff, and I knew it was the right thing for me to do. I felt free.

The hardest part was picking up the phone to call him, having to hear his voice... I breathed a sigh of relief when his brother Conner answered, I explained that I wanted Jess’s stuff gone and he agreed to come straight around and pick it up. I had never liked Conner, not even as a friend, and as uncomfortable as I was in having to be under his questioning and mocking gaze, I was grateful that I didn’t have to face Jess and the humiliation he would make me feel... or he would smile that smile and my knees would go weak and I would give in just like I always did... you think I don’t know that I’m a fool where Jess is concerned... but I loved him, but we won’t go into that bit of insanity.

I’d just made a coffee when a knock came at the door, it couldn’t be Conner already he was still at least twenty minutes away... my heart all but stopped when I looked through the spy hole and saw Jess’s smiling face... It looked as though I was going to have to face him after all.

“Hello Jess,” it was the only thing I could think of to say... I never even got the ess out before I was knocked flat on the floor... not by Jess, he’d never hit me, he didn’t believe in hitting people. So he had his friends do it for him, Alyson... my supposedly best friend’s foot caught me just below the rib cage but I managed to roll with the kick.

My mouth was bleeding as I looked up at Jess who was calmly sitting on the couch watching as his friends beat me to death. His smile faltered momentarily as I pushed myself up enough to stand. There were three of them Alyson and two guys I had never seen before... I don’t mind telling you that I was scared shitless. I knew I wasn’t going to make it out alive, this had always been my worst fear a slow and painful death and Jess knew it.

I couldn’t even comprehend what Alyson was screaming at me my attention was focused solely on Jess and that smile. The two guys hit me from either side and I felt my legs break, I had never felt such pain before in my life.  At that point in time I was willing myself to die as they rained blow after blow upon me... and that’s where my memory stops.

*~*~*

That was almost a year and a half ago now... to be precise it was fifteen months, eleven days, six hours, four minutes and the seconds keep ticking by. I only found out two hours ago that I was still alive, when I woke up here and they called me Mr Campbell.  I nearly had heart failure as I saw the silver ring on my hand.  Jess immediately sprang to mind and I’m ashamed to admit that I was only capable of throwing up at the whole idea. The thought of Jess being anywhere near me was enough to make me fall apart. That smile... the smile I had always loved, now filled me with unsurmountable amounts of terror... but it wasn’t the case; as they were leaving the room I heard them mention Conner.

My mind raced was this some cruel joke, some sort of twisted revenge for all the times I had ignored him completely. I didn’t know, but I was sure I was going to find out. They told me he would be arriving shortly.

By the way did I mention that the year is now 4320, and my name is Jordon Doyle... that would be Jordon Campbell now, and I am twenty one years old, though I must have missed my last two birthdays, not that it matters?

I should also tell you a bit about our world and our way of life... there’s not much to tell really. Basically the world has changed, there really isn’t any system to things, we seemed to have depopulated, and nobody really knows why, or how, all they know for sure is that over the last twenty years the earth just shed itself of about three quarters of each species... now those who survived are gathering together all set on making the same damn mistakes that brought this down on us in the first place

This is where my story begins and my life becomes complicated.

VERY COMPLICATED...