Tim stared at the scene unfolding before him. His hands held high as he stared at his bloody hands. His mind started remembering scenes he tried so hard to suppress and flashed them in front of his eyes, overlapping them with the current event.
"No… no, no, no, no, no!" He said.
Almost six weeks ago, Tim was sprinting happily down the street, jumping around and singing. He was so excited to spend his summer break with Jake, upgrading their base. His back felt so relaxed not having to carry around his school supplies all day.
He quickly entered the forest, not caring if anyone saw him or followed him. The forest's plants became denser with every few metres deeper in the forest. He could hear the birds chirping and the sun's dangerous rays were blocked out by the treetops.
"Jake!" He yelled almost at their hideout. He slowed down so he would not disturb the animals living around their base and looked at the entrance to their hideout in the distance.
Having heard Tim's call, Jake stuck his head out of the hideout with an enormous grin spread across his face. Seeing his friend so happy, Tim's heart started to flutter.
"There you are!" Jake yelled back as Tim approached, "Took you long enough."
Tim went past Jake into their small hideout to sit down: "What are we going to work on today? A new secret tunnel? A room expansion? Or just a decorative upgrade for the main room?" He stared at Jake with anticipation.
"We have to camouflage the hideout better later, but first, let us build a TV from mud and sticks. It is going to be so cozy here." Jake told him.
For hours the two of them spent their time trying to build a flatscreen TV out of mud and sticks. "Think we have to change tactics?" Tim asked, exhausted, his hands and pants covered in mud. He cleaned his hands instinctively on his shirt and looked at the mess they made.
"I think so," Jake chuckled, "Maybe one of those fat TVs they had in the past. They're almost identical to a cube, so it should be way easier and if we succeed, we can still slowly chop away at the thickness to see how thin we can get it."
Jake sighed.
"You want to take a break? Normally I am the one first out of breath." Tim mused happily. He sat back, leaning against a wall trying to wipe away his sweat from his forehead with his muddy hands.
"You're stupid." Jake said and laughed at Tim.
Tim grimaced and smeared a handful of mud into Jake's face.
"Hey! Stop that." Jake complained and started throwing mud at Tim. For a while they fought each other, covering their entire bodies in mud, turning each other into mud creatures.
The two of them laid down next to each other outside the hideout. Staring at the treetops and smelling the fresh forest air. "You know," Jake started, "I am going to move away in a few days. My father got a job offer on the other side of the country." He looked dejected at the sky.
"Just move out, get an apartment somewhere and stay." Tim suggested. "You can't leave me alone, I don't want to have to spend the rest of my days alone while Lina follows me around and annoys me."
Jake did not answer for a moment and let out a sigh.
Tim looked at Jake's sad face.
"I can't. I don't have the money for it." He told Tim.
"If you want me to, I can give you some of my money, or we can get a place together and become roommates." He suggested, trying to get Jake to stay with him. He waited for an answer but never received one. He just stood up silently and walked deeper into the forest. Tim wanted to clear his mind for a bit.
"Wait!" Jake called after him but Tim just hurried even more.
He walked deeper and deeper until he got to a small drop, maybe 4 metres and just looked at the sky through the small hole in the treetops. He heard footsteps walking closer: "Could I get a few minutes to think about something?"
He did not receive an answer from Jake as he hoped, no confirmation that he respected his wish, but a stranger's voice sounded behind him: "If you give me a few minutes of your time, sure."
Tim spun around and saw someone running at him, holding a hunting knife. He jumped out of the way, dodging the blade by a hair's width and running back towards the hideout. "Jake! Help!" He screamed.
The footsteps behind him slowly got closer, inching their way forward and towards him.
He screamed again for help from Jake and heard a grunt behind him. But he was too scared to turn around and look at the scene so he just continued running. He ran past their hideout, Jake nowhere in sight and left the forest into a busy crowd of people.
He turned towards the forest, waiting for his pursuer to emerge or Jake somewhere hiding like him, but that never happened. "Jake?" He yelled back into the forest, the people surrounding him just looked at him annoyed and disgusted. They all just walked a big circle around him.
"Jake?" He called again, panic rising in his chest. His muscles tensed and he did not know what to do so he just sprinted back into the forest. "JAKE!" He screamed with all his might. He tripped over a lot of roots and branches which slowed him down.
He ran into the hideout, Jake nowhere to be found. He ran back the route he had sprinted along while running away, trying to search for him. He heard a faint and heavy breathing from around a bush.
"JAKE!" He screamed and panicked as he dropped to his knees in front of Jake. He was laying on the ground, barely conscious and covered in blood. The hunting knife was still stuck in his chest.
Tim grabbed Jake, trying to pick him up, carry him to the hospital or at least out of the forest. But Jake grabbed his hand, tears streaming down his face: "You… fucking moron… run…" He muttered with all the energy he had left and Tim could hear the air escaping his lungs through the wound in his chest.
"No! I am gonna help you." He said, "I promise I will!" He also started crying as Jake was bleeding out in front of him. "Please… just hold on."