The sun is setting over the grasslands, stretching out Jake's shadow to a towering height along the ground.
No, that wasn't it.
He had stretched up tall -- 600, maybe 800 feet in the air. The sun wasn't set at all, and the darkness cast out over the field was Jake-made. Squinting down at the distant ground, Jake could see some movement. At first, it was indistinguishable from the dance of wind through the tall meadow grasses. Then, he saw a streak of blue and white.
"Is that Finn down there?" Jermaine asks, perched on his shoulder eating a bologna on rye. Jake can't stop smelling the pickles and fights back irritation over his brother not offering to share.
"Yeah, I think so." Jake replies, trying to lean down to get a better look. Jermaine yelps, scrabbling to get a better grip on Jake's fur. He drops the sandwich.
"What the heck, bro!? You almost killed me."
"Wha?" Jake took a step, overcorrecting a bit to make sure Jermaine was safe. Even so, his response was tinged with defensiveness. "Oh c'mon, it wasn't on purpose!"
Something crunched beneath his foot. The feeling that came with it was as if someone flushed a toilet in his heart, a sudden wave of sucking emptiness overtaking his subconscious.
"Whoa there brother, watch your step."
Jake does so, feeling another crunch. Huge tears start forming in his eyes, falling to earth at high velocity. Before Jake knows what to make of it, the water is high enough to submerge him up to the knees. Below the salty ocean of his own tears, tall grass swishes like kelp.
"Been a while since we went to the beach, hasn't it?" Jermaine pipes up. "Remember how we used to go with dad? I wonder why Finn never came with us."
"He would always cry, Dad didn't think he could handle it," Jake supplied, distracted. He couldn't stop scanning the water for anything resembling their younger brother. His hat, a body, anything--
"We should go to the beach again, now that he's older."
There was that heart flushing feeling again, though this time it came with a different sensation--
---
Jake wakes up with a start, still half-dreaming as he fell out of his cupboard and stumbled toward the bathroom.
2/3
No, that wasn't it.
He had stretched up tall -- 600, maybe 800 feet in the air. The sun wasn't set at all, and the darkness cast out over the field was Jake-made. Squinting down at the distant ground, Jake could see some movement. At first, it was indistinguishable from the dance of wind through the tall meadow grasses. Then, he saw a streak of blue and white.
"Is that Finn down there?" Jermaine asks, perched on his shoulder eating a bologna on rye. Jake can't stop smelling the pickles and fights back irritation over his brother not offering to share.
"Yeah, I think so." Jake replies, trying to lean down to get a better look. Jermaine yelps, scrabbling to get a better grip on Jake's fur. He drops the sandwich.
"What the heck, bro!? You almost killed me."
"Wha?" Jake took a step, overcorrecting a bit to make sure Jermaine was safe. Even so, his response was tinged with defensiveness. "Oh c'mon, it wasn't on purpose!"
Something crunched beneath his foot. The feeling that came with it was as if someone flushed a toilet in his heart, a sudden wave of sucking emptiness overtaking his subconscious.
"Whoa there brother, watch your step."
Jake does so, feeling another crunch. Huge tears start forming in his eyes, falling to earth at high velocity. Before Jake knows what to make of it, the water is high enough to submerge him up to the knees. Below the salty ocean of his own tears, tall grass swishes like kelp.
"Been a while since we went to the beach, hasn't it?" Jermaine pipes up. "Remember how we used to go with dad? I wonder why Finn never came with us."
"He would always cry, Dad didn't think he could handle it," Jake supplied, distracted. He couldn't stop scanning the water for anything resembling their younger brother. His hat, a body, anything--
"We should go to the beach again, now that he's older."
There was that heart flushing feeling again, though this time it came with a different sensation--
---
Jake wakes up with a start, still half-dreaming as he fell out of his cupboard and stumbled toward the bathroom.