I Can Help You

Joey kept his promise, and the first four years of the new Jakob's life were reasonably uneventful. He enjoyed life in the country, having no recollection of his previous existence. Joey had Summer, Billie and Adrienne had there baby back, everything was fine. Until that day. The day Jakob started acting very strangely, the day someone discovered their terrible secret, the day things started to go wrong.
Jakob started to talk more and more about this 'Harry', and it frightened them.
"He's never known a Harry" Adrienne insisted when Dr Hill said he must be a friend or neighbour, "I'm telling you, something's wrong"
The night time wanderings were becoming ever more frequent, and dangerous. On more than one occasion, Jakob had been found in the garden, or even in the surrounding fields, sitting quietly in the grass, rocking back and fourth. When questioned, he always said that Harry was cold too, and that he wanted to see him again. As if that wasn't terrifying enough, he had been discovered twice in the kitchen, turning the sharpest bread knife over in his tiny hands.
Almost a fortnight after Summer's revelation, by far the most frightening incident occurred. Joey was awoken from the darkness of his bedroom around two in the morning to find Jakob was missing again. At first he wasn't too upset, although he would never have admitted it. Jakob disappeared all the time; there was no need to panic. He always turned up. Forcing himself out of bed and pulling a pair of jeans on, Joey barely thought about it. Getting up in the middle of the night to search the field was now just a part of his schedule. It was a daily occurrence and it had stopped bothering him long ago. Perhaps it was the accident that had turned him cold, he didn't seem to care about much anymore.
"Got a torch?" Billie Joe shouted to him, "You go up towards the church and the lake, me and your Mum will head up the track and search the fields"
This too, was completely normal, they rotated search routes, as nobody really liked going to the old church, or its graveyard, at night. Unfortunately for Joey, it was his turn, and in the last few nights he'd heard more and more odd noises. Still, it wasn't like he had a choice. For a fleeting moment, whilst pulling on his boots, Joey wondered what would happen if Jakob never came back, before telling himself it was nonsense.
"You better not be far away" he whispered into the night, "I need to get back to bed, I've got a maths test tomorrow"
While walking to the church, Joey had time to think about school. Neither he nor Summer had discussed Jakob since that night. Things had been undoubtedly awkward between them since, and since neither had many other friends, this was a big blow for both of them. Joey, suddenly filled with horrific images of kidnappers and murderers, quickened his pace, forgetting all about Summer. There was a quiet, almost silent, wail ringing in his ears. It seemed to be coming from deep inside him, yet from far, far away. It was something between cats yowling, and a creaky door. A noise which made his ears ache, his heart thud, and the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
"Jakob" he shouted, "Are you there Jakob?"
Everything around him was still, the noise growing fainter. There was no sign of Jakob. He was now nearing the churchyard, praying for dear life that a familiar little figure would be curled up under one of the apple trees; that he'd lead Jakob over the hill and back to bed and everything would be all right.
Joey stopped for a moment to listen, hoping to hear a frightened little voice whisper that Harry was cold. Then at least the night would be normal. But he heard something else. It was barely audible, but he could almost make out Adrienne screaming. Quick as a flash, Joey was out of the churchyard and fleeing down the road. He had no idea why he was going in that direction, his parents were supposed to be up in the fields. But something was pulling him towards the lake.
"Was it the same thing that made pulled Jakob?" he wondered, "Was it the thing that was going to kill his little brother. And if it killed Jakob, then he was certain it would finish off Adrienne, she lived for Jakob. And his Dad lived for her. Was he going to be left completely alone?"
As he raced downhill, stumbling several times, Joey caught sight of the lake, glittering in the moonlight. And the two shadowy shaped knelt beside it. Hoping against hope that he couldn't see what he thought he saw, which was Adrienne clutching a lifeless little body, Joey broke into a sprint. The chill wind roared in his ears, his knees stung from when he had fallen, but still he didn't stop, only skidding to a halt when he reached his parents.
"Is he -" Joey whispered, unable to finish the question. He couldn't look at them, he just stared at the ground feeling the back of his throat burning and his eyes smarting.
"He's fine" Adrienne murmured, pulling Jakob closer, "He's okay"
Joey dared let out a breath, finding the courage to look at them. Jakob was lying perfectly still in Adrienne's arms, but his eyes were wide with shock, blinking up at them.
"You idiot" Joey exploded, "What the hell did you run a way for? I thought you were dead, you selfish little brat! I hate you"
He felt a hand on his shoulder, indicating that he had said enough.
"It's okay Joey" Billie Joe said reassuringly, "We'll talk to Jakob about this later, right now we just need to get him back to the cottage and out of those wet clothes. And you need to get back to bed"
Still breathing heavily, Joey leaned over to take Jakob.
"Leave him alone" Adrienne snapped, "He's my baby, and I'll carry him"
Hurt, Joey walked beside his Dad, allowing Adrienne to lag behind. He had so many questions bubbling away inside him, yet he couldn't find the words to ask a single one.
"It's weird" Billie Joe said, "His fingers were wrinkled, like when you come out of a bath. We found him face down at the bottom of the pond, so he'd obviously been there a while. So how the hell did he survive without oxygen for so long before we pulled him out?"
Joey didn't know what to say. He knew Jakob wasn't exactly normal, but this pushed the boundaries of downright freaky. Part of him was grateful that Jakob seemed immortal, at least they wouldn't have to worry that he'd drown or freeze to death when he went wandering. On the other hand, Joey felt like punching something. Why couldn't he just have a normal family like everyone else? Why did his little brother have to go for underwater chats with someone called Harry? Why did they all have to run around the fields in the dead of night looking for him? Why couldn't his Mum get worked up about homework and bedtimes, instead of what shirt to wear for meetings with the doctor who'd cloned her son? It sounded so ridiculous, that Joey couldn't help snorting. Then he regretted it. There was nothing funny about the situation, in fact it was truly terrifying and chilled him to the bone. And then Joey realised that the person he really wanted to talk to was Summer. Even after four years of hoping she'd never find out, and an agonising week when she did, he still needed her.
"Look mate" Billie Joe said, "Just you go to bed when we get home, I'll talk to your Mum. I think I'll phone Dr Hill tomorrow too, we'll get this sorted out Joey, don't worry."
But it was impossible not to worry. Joey couldn't deny it any longer. Harry was no imaginary friend, nor was he a neighbour. Joey could hide it from himself any more that Jakob was Harry. Or Harry was Jakob, whichever way you want to say. When Jakob was cloned, somehow a little part of someone else had been included. And it wasn't someone else's smile of sense of humour. It was someone's worst nightmares, someone's greatest fears. And that someone was Harry. And that tiny little part of Harry was going to end up killing Jakob.
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Dr Hill wasn't the least bit concerned.
"I explained to you that there could potentially be problems" he said, "but there doesn't seem to be anything seriously wrong. Jakob seems healthy enough"
Jakob was sitting on the rug, quietly making his toy trains crash into each other. To everyone else, he seemed like a typical little boy, just making a noise and trying to annoy them. But Joey knew this was different, that Jakob, or Harry, was remembering. Remembering his old life. He had no idea what it must have been like, at such a young age to know something so horrific and not know why. He hadn't mentioned this to his parents. Adrienne didn't talk about the accident. She said there was no point, that they had a whole new life, and as far as she was concerned, it never happened.
"But what if something happens to him?" she asked, tears trailing down her face, "I can't lose him again, I can't"
Billie Joe wound an arm around her, signalling for Joey to take Jakob out of the room for a while.
"C'mon mate" he said, "We'll have game of snakes and ladders right."
Wordlessly, Jakob followed, leaving the trains behind. They were turned sickeningly like the way the train was when Adrienne had tried to carry them from it. Joey was glad to be out of the living room. Apart from feeling very uneasy in the midst of all that shouting, he wanted to have a quiet word with Jakob. Once they were safely upstairs, Joey closed the door, blocking out the furious screeches from below.
"Jakob" he whispered.
Jakob ignored him, and began his rocking. His pale face was expressionless as he swayed back and forth, his eyes fixed on something nobody else could see.
"Jakob" Joey said again, louder this time. But by this point he realised why he wasn't answering. Feeling as if he was betraying himself, and Dr Hill, Joey said-
"Harry?"
Immediately Jakob looked up at him, and smiled. It was a nice smile, cute almost, and one Joey was sure he hadn't seen since the old Jakob. It made his heart ache for his real brother. But the little boy in front of him had done nothing wrong, and Joey decided to try a little harder to help him. He reached into the cupboard and pulled out a box containing his old snakes and ladders set.
"Want a game then?" he asked, "I'll let you go first"
It's amazing how; even at fifteen; it's so easy to ignore a complete rammy taking place under your feet when you get absorbed in a good game. And it's amazing how, even at four, you always manage to win every time.