Down in a Hole: Denied WingsA Story by Kaleb Story that goes with Down in a Hole by Alice in Chains
Down in a Hole: Denied Wings “Bury me,” he said as the rain beat softly against the steel metal roof. The storm had come and gone throughout the hour. Sporadic bursts of thunder rattled the make-shift shed. Jacob’s eyes were full of pain and anxiety, of lust and hatred. The shimmering of the light above the two was as clairvoyant in the dark pupils of his eyes as if Kaleb had been staring at the light directly. Kaleb felt his finger stroke the hammer as his arm tensed. A thunderous jolt shattered the silence. For a brief moment Kaleb thought he had pulled the trigger, ending Jacob’s life. When his senses realigned he realized that in the excitement they both had thought the deed had been finished.
The depth of the moment only increased when the downpour of rain increased. Like a slow pour of sand over a smooth surface the water began to leak into various weakly welded areas in the roof. The shed had been around for years it appeared, an old hunting storage shed by the looks of it. On a shelf about a meter behind Jacob there was an open window with a tipped over flower pot. Rain was blowing in through the hole and onto the dirt floor. The flowers in the pot had long since died but their residual petal color was still intact and shown a dull yellow hue.
“You don’t deserve to live”, Kaleb said as he kept the sidearm closely trained on Jacobs already bleeding temple. There was silence again for a short period of time as they studied each other’s souls through their mirror-like eyes. Tears had slowly crept up in Jacob’s eyes giving way to an onslaught of emotions he wished to subdue.
It was true that he had caused her death. Jacob had not been there for her when she needed him the most. Kaleb did not have the heart to even mutter her name in Jacob’s presence. They watched her downward spiral into a world of drug addictions but it was Jacob who introduced her. The love Jacob and she shared was deeper than the darkest fathom this planet could muster; and they both knew it. Jacob had been an addict for the largest part of his life, but he was a good person. When Kaleb had introduced his sister to Jacob, he knew they had a spark.
“I love her you know,” Jacob said without releasing his eyes from Kalebs. “She was my rare flower, one that decorated the grave that is my heart Kaleb”. Tears were flowing freely down his worn and pale face. The last three weeks had been brutal on Jacob’s health and it was obvious by the protruding bones in his cheeks that he hadn’t eaten anything filling in that same time frame.
“Save your Shakespear talk for the big guy Jacob, it’s just you and me now”. The hammer snapped back and Jacob began sobbing even more so than before. Kaleb’s eyes were unwavering in his decision; he would end Jacob’s life tonight and let vengeance take hold.
Kaleb could not forgive Jacob for what had happened to her. Not after the warnings, the obvious signs that things would go wrong if they kept pace with their lifestyles. Jacob had been Kaleb’s best friend since their second year in college. In their senior year Jacob and Nicole had hooked up, and were inseparable thereafter. If Kaleb could go into the past he would have prevented the situation from ever growing in the first place.
Kaleb’s thoughts were interrupted by Jacob, “You don’t understand who she thought I was supposed to be; do you?”
Just thirty minutes before, Kaleb had been on his way to Jacob. He had known Jacob would not leave the shack, too afraid to find out what had happened to her personally. The shack had been they’re escape from the stress of society. Jacob took Nicole to the isolated sanctuary quite often to enhance their addictions. It was secluded and by all rights only the three knew where it was.
Earlier that day Jacob and Nicole had been running lines of cocaine. Do to circumstances that did not allow them to go to their normal dealer they had to buy from an alternate agent. Unfortunately the cocaine had not been filtered to purification and had traces of impurities throughout the power. Just enough of a difference to cause Nicole to collapse and go into shock after two dragging two lines. Jacob panicked and tried to administer an adrenalin shot. Upon insertion Nicole’s body began to shake uncontrollably. Jacob did the only thing he could think of and called Kaleb.
Kaleb rushed to the hidden oasis as fast as he could reluctant to call an ambulance for fear of their parents finding out about Nicole. This had not been the first time Jacob had called Kaleb for this type of situation, in previous situations she had woken up when Jacob gave her the adrenalin shot. This time she didn’t.
Kaleb grabbed her convulsing body and sprinted to his car which was about a half mile due south east of the shack. Ten minutes later they arrived at the hospital and Nicole was admitted into the E.R. Her body had stopped shaking and was limp when he set her down on a stretcher. Kaleb watched relentlessly as doctors and nurses frantically administered several liquids to her seemingly lifeless body.
His eyes watched every upbeat and down beat of Nicole’s heart rate which was well over one hundred and fifty beats per minute. Kaleb’s fist met the wall several times as doctors yelled to one another about how to treat her. All the while Kaleb began developing a hatred towards Jacob, wanting nothing more than to end his miserable life for causing his sister to go through this time and time again.
A solid ringing entered Kaleb’s ear drum and his eyes flashed up to the heart rate monitor. A solid green line stroked across the width of the blackness. Doctors quickly brought in a defibrillator and began unbearable sight of jump starting Nicole’s heart. Kaleb could not take it any longer. He pulled his phone out and dialed Jacob; no answer. Infuriated Kaleb threw his phone as hard as he could at the chair beside him and yelled at the top of his lungs.
Security quickly forced Kaleb out of the room. He exited the hospital and went straight home to pick up his sidearm. He then drove to the forest border and walked with an increasing pace towards the shed. Numerous times Kaleb checked his gun to see that it did have ammo in it as if reassuring himself that he had what it takes to complete the task that lay before him.
Kaleb honestly wondered if Jacob knew that Kaleb would come for him. That he would be bringing a life altering choice with him, a choice to put Jacob down in the hole that Jacob had dug himself. By the expression Jacob had when Kaleb first opened the door to the shack, he had known. Kaleb’s expression had also given away his intentions as well as a cold fist to Jacob’s temple.
Jacob offered no resistance even when Kaleb pulled the forty-five from behind his back and placed it against Jacob’s head. Kaleb’s emotions overflowed with anger and hatred as the moment slowly fled the two. He had been thinking about this moment for the past two days and had come to a conclusion; but something kept him from pulling the trigger at that moment. Whether that reason was because Jacob had been his best friend or because he was enjoying seeing Jacob in pain: he didn’t know.
Jacob began to say something when Kaleb smashed the sidearm against the side of his face. A tooth covered in a red liquid stroked across the dirt. The attack did not deter Jacob’s words.
“I will speak no more of my feelings for her”, Jacob said. Kaleb was so infuriated at that moment that he unleashed a fury of kicks and punches on Jacob. Each hit made Kaleb angrier at the situation and only enticed Kaleb to keep hitting him. When Kaleb felt one of Jacob’s ribs break as his foot collided he stopped to catch his breath.
Through the blood and torn flesh, Jacob’s voice uttered a single question jumbled by slurs and gasps for air.
“Do-you think that”, he paused to clear his throat of blood, “I will be denied my wings when I arrive Kaleb?”
“They will put you down in a hole Jacob,” Kaleb said as the hammer released and a bullet cleared Jacob’s head. Kaleb fell to his knees and pushed his blood soaked hands against his face. He was unable to sort through all of the emotions he was feeling.
A gentle ringing and vibration came from Jacob’s pocket. Kaleb pulled Jacob’s cell phone out and slowly looked at the caller ID. His face betrayed a drunken stupor, as if he was in disbelief of this entire situation. The caller ID read ‘Kaleb’.
Even more confused Kaleb reached for his phone in his pocket only to realize he left it at the hospital about an hour and a half ago. One of the doctors must have found it on the chair and was trying to call the emergency contact, which was listed as Jacob. Reluctantly Kaleb opened the phone and placed it coldly against his ear.
A very slow and raspy voice, barely audible, made it through the speaker. “Ja-Jacob”, the female voice said. Doctors and nurses could be heard in the background requesting the female put the phone down. The voice was hardly familiar until she spoke again, “Jacob…tell-”, the voice stopped to breath heavily, “Kaleb I am okay”. Nicole’s voice was very drawn out and exasperated.
Kaleb’s heart rate picked up immediately. He found himself speechless to the point of only getting her name out, “Nicole”, he said empathetically as he brought the gun to his temple. I won’t deny you your wings Jacob, I’m sorry he thought to himself as a solid piece of lead exited his head leaving his lifeless body to drop over Jacobs.
A single word came through the phone before it hit the ground and shattered, “Kaleb”.
© 2009 KalebAuthor's Note
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3 Reviews  Last Updated on January 22, 2009 Author
KalebNew York, NYAboutBeen a writer for years, working on publishing my first book: physics. more..Writing
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