A large black spider crawled quickly through the dust, its tiny legs leaving no trace of its passing. Through a haze of pain and lingering delirium, Jacob stared at the creature with detached disinterest.

Jacob: "Itsy bitsy spider, crawling on the floor…"

His words trailed off in a series of wracking coughs that ended in a splattering of blood on the ground in front of him, which he looked at unblinking until shifting patterns began to emerge. His ribcage ached with every breath, though his focus was more on the searing pain in his neck and throat.

The day had been unbearably hot and had seemed unnaturally bright, though now that the sun had set it had cooled considerably. A light breeze had found its way through a broken windowpane, but it was hardly enough to ease even a small portion of his discomfort.

There were voices coming through the darkness, and through half-closed eyes he could just begin to make out vague shapes through the grimy windows of the disused factory. He'd been hoping they wouldn't return, that they'd have found something else to hold their interest, but they weren't going to forget him so easily. He tried to sit up but was hit with a bolt of pain so severe it knocked the breath out of him and sent him falling back to the floor in exhaustion.

Drake: "Well lookit that--the retard had enough sense to climb out of the daylight! Wonder if he had to get scorched first."
Vinnie: "Can't tell through all that dirt all over him."
Drake: "You owe me fifty bucks."
Vinnie: "Man, that's bullshit."

Drake: "You said he wouldn't make it through the day, yet there he is."
Vinnie: "He ain't moving very much."
Drake: "Nobody said nothing about what shape he had to be in, now pay up."
Vinnie: "Aw shit, man."

Piper: "Drake, this is getting really boring. Can't we go out somewhere?"
Vinnie: "Yeah, seriously. This place gives me the creeps. There's rats everywhere."
Drake: "Jesus, Vinnie, you're a hunnert times bigger than them. It's not like they can hurt you."
Vinnie: "Yeah but there's a hundred times more of them than me. Plus they're disgusting."
Drake: "Yeah? They probably think the same about you."

Piper: "Really, really bored now."
Drake: "Then why don't you just leave instead of yapping about it?"
Piper: "Because it's more boring to go do things on my own."

Drake: "Fine, whatever. Let's go. This game's done I guess."
Vinnie: "So what do you want to do with him? Just leave him here?"
Drake: "Eh, why not? He's mostly dead anyway."
Piper: "What if Big Momma finds out about this? Remember what she said about messing with the locals? We could get in some serious trouble."

Drake: "Cripes, Piper, you're such a baby! She just likes to scare us, I'm sure there's nothin' to her stories. You know how those elders get after a few decades--their brains start to decay and they go all batty. It comes from growing up in the old days or something."
Vinnie: "All the same, we better not just leave him here. What if he, I dunno, survives by eating rats or something?"
Drake: "Fine, let's just dump him off the bridge and be done with it. I'm pretty sure he won't be able to feed off fish. Piper, go get the car."
Piper: "Oh hey that's a good idea!"

Time jolted and shifted forward--one moment they were standing above him, the next moment there was blinding pain and the harsh scraping of pavement under his hands. The stars above them glared down with a preternatural harshness, glinting off every surface in a dazzling display of glittering lights. Every sound seemed suddenly amplified, from the laughter of his tormentors to the distant chirping of crickets in the forest surrounding them and the rush of water nearly two hundred feet below.

A blind panic gripped Jacob as the realization of what they planned to do sunk in. He began thrashing against their grip in a desperate attempt to pull free, but to no avail.

Vinnie: "Damn, I thought this kid was nearly dead. Why's he suddenly flailing around like this?"
Drake: "Just help me get him over the side. Piper, grab his feet."
Piper: "Ok but if he kicks me I'm gonna be pissed. I just got this outfit!"
Drake: "It's not like you paid for it."