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Description
One week after the wedding, everyone resumed their regular routine. They'd all work on cleaning and stuff. Abby and Nathan would go explore the forest, fish, and take a ride in the small boat when they were finished. Marie would cook a big supper for everyone, the smell flooding the house, and work on a painting she had been working on for a year. It was of five people standing on a dock. One was tall and gangly, another was a small, but energetic looking girl, next to her was a boy with wheat colored hair, and lastly there was an older couple, past their prime, but still filled with energy. Martin had begun writing a book based on his experiences on an old typewriter he had inherited from his father. He had already written the first two chapters; which were about his and Max's army shenanigans. He titled his book; War. Lastly, Jackson would disappear into the woods for an hour, and then reappear around dinnertime.

One day was different however, he had stayed in the woods about an hour extra, and so Martin decided to go look for him. Near the pond was a small path of trampled branches which lead to a small clearing covered with wildflowers. A tree stump stuck out in the center of it. Jackson was sitting cross legged on top of it, a cardinal perched on his knee, as he carefully carved it's likeness into a piece of wood. He paused for a second, reached out and ran his finger along the bird's tail, then continued carving.

"Jackson?" Martin called from the path, scaring the bird away.

"Ugh, you scared it off…" Jackson grunted as he dropped the knife and carving into his lap.

"You didn't come back when you usually do." Martin stated as he approached the stump, "What do you do out here anyway?"

Jackson pointed down to a small hollow at the base of the stump; it was filled with small wooden carvings of various animals. Each looked exactly like the animal it was mimicking, except smaller and wooden. The detail on them was incredible. "It helps me clear my head."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just- I've got a lot on my mind."

"Like what?"

"I realized that I haven't talked to my parents in almost 10 years. The last time I called them was about a year after I took that job. I'm not even sure if they're still around."

"You could always call them now."

"Are you kidding? I'd be lucky if they even spat in my direction now!"

"It would be better than sitting out here all day wondering about it." He tugged his shirt sleeve, "Come on; let's go inside."

~0~0~0~

Jackson crossed his arms over his chest tightly as the plane streaked through the sky.

"Are you ill?" Martin shot a sideways glance towards him.

"No."

"Scared?"

"No."

"Nervous?"

"No."

"Fine, I was only trying to help." Martin sighed as he put some headsets on.

They remained silent until they got off the plane and entered the airport. It was packed with large, muscular, mustached men, and strongly built women, a couple of which also had mustaches, somehow. Jackson stood at least a head above all of them, and stuck out like a big, fat, red thumb. A huge cacophony filled the airport, and someone had apparently started a fistfight at customs.

As they made their way through the burly crowd, Martin noticed people staring at Jackson as they walked. Apparently everyone deemed Martin a foreigner, however, and paid no attention to him. When they got to their taxi, the driver glared at Jackson as he climbed into the car, and refused to speak with him the whole drive and only took directions from Martin.

They were dropped off about a mile away from their destinations at a small diner, the drivers reasoning? "I can't stand that freak in my car anymore."

"That was rude!" Martin said as he flipped off the cab driver as he drove away.

"You get used to it after a while…" Jackson said bitterly as he picked up his suitcase.

"What are you talking about?" Martin was still glaring at the road, even though the taxi had disappeared.

"I'm part Aboriginal. For some reason people got it in their heads that they were evil, and even though segregation was outlawed, we're still treated like dirt." Jackson kicked a rock, "That's the exact reason why I didn't want to come back here in the first place. Come on, we'd better start walking."

~0~0~0~

After following the road in the scorching heat, with storm clouds overhead, threatening to burst at any moment, they finally arrived at their destination.

"Ugh, I thought it was winter here." Martin panted as they stepped onto the porch.

"This is Australia; it never cools down." Jackson laughed as he knocked on the door of the red house.

A plump, elderly woman answered the door, upon seeing the tall man; she froze, and then broke into tears as she pulled him into a bone crushing hug.

"H-hey mum…" he gasped, his lungs being crushed.

"My baby's b-back!" She blubbered, "Where have you been?!"

~0~0~0~

After he was finally released from the death-hug, Jackson was dragged into the house as Lizzie demanded to know everything that had happened. Then she noticed Martin, who explained that he was escorting Jackson because of his blindness; this caused Lizzie to go into a panic.

"How could this happen?! Are you okay?!"

"Yes, mum, I'm fine…"

"My poor, poor baby!"

Martin rolled his eyes and began looking at the three photos which lined the mantle of a large fireplace at the other end of the room. The was a picture of a gorgeous woman and a young girl, but the father was ripped out of the picture, all that remained of him was a dark hand which rested on the girls shoulder. The picture in the center was of a beautiful woman, who bore a striking resemblance to the young girl in the other picture, a big, muscular man who looked exactly like every other man he had seen in the airport, and a skinny, lanky young boy who looked like a younger version of Jackson. The last picture was of a woman in a sundress frowning, with a young boy and girl on either side of her. A large assortment of wooden carvings of various animals surrounded them.

A short elderly man walked in and began to yell at Jackson. Martin looked at him and back to the picture. It was obviously the same man, but, deflated. Martin only half-listened to the argument, because he felt that it wasn't his place to say anything, but what he did hear was a series of curses and profanity. In the end; Jackson stormed out the backdoor instinctively, and, before he could lock himself in his office, Lizzie berated him. They were silenced by a large clap of thunder and the sound of heavy rain falling on the roof.

~0~0~0~

Jackson followed the path he had walked many times as a child. It was almost exactly as he had remembered, minus a few misplaced rocks. He felt his way through the brush, which had overgrown in the time he had been gone, and found the hollow tree and boulder by the stream.

The tree however, was truly hollow, and his small wooden creations were missing. He shrugged it off and assumed that they had rotted away by now. He felt the atmosphere get heavier, and felt his way towards the small cave not too far from there. On his way over there, he heard a blood-curdling screech. The source of this was something large and wounded. He walked towards it, and heard it thrash around.

He ran his hand over its back, it was long and rough, obviously a crocodile. As his hand grazed its lower back however, it screeched in pain again, its tail was missing. A loud clap of thunder shook the forest, and he heaved the beast onto his back, ignoring its protests, and carried it to the cave as rain poured down.

Inside the cave, he listened to the steady flow of rain outside. The crocodile eventually calmed down, and lay against his leg. In the span of an hour, several other animals had found refuge from the storm in the same cave. They all sat on or next to Jackson, sharing body heat with each other, completely forgetting about eating or attacking each other.

Soon they were all unconscious; hypnotized by the rhythmic pounding of the rain.

Description
One week after the wedding, everyone resumed their regular routine. They'd all work on cleaning and stuff. Abby and Nathan would go explore the forest, fish, and take a ride in the small boat when they were finished. Marie would cook a big supper for everyone, the smell flooding the house, and work on a painting she had been working on for a year. It was of five people standing on a dock. One was tall and gangly, another was a small, but energetic looking girl, next to her was a boy with wheat colored hair, and lastly there was an older couple, past their prime, but still filled with energy. Martin had begun writing a book based on his experiences on an old typewriter he had inherited from his father. He had already written the first two chapters; which were about his and Max's army shenanigans. He titled his book; War. Lastly, Jackson would disappear into the woods for an hour, and then reappear around dinnertime.

One day was different however, he had stayed in the woods about an hour extra, and so Martin decided to go look for him. Near the pond was a small path of trampled branches which lead to a small clearing covered with wildflowers. A tree stump stuck out in the center of it. Jackson was sitting cross legged on top of it, a cardinal perched on his knee, as he carefully carved it's likeness into a piece of wood. He paused for a second, reached out and ran his finger along the bird's tail, then continued carving.

"Jackson?" Martin called from the path, scaring the bird away.

"Ugh, you scared it off…" Jackson grunted as he dropped the knife and carving into his lap.

"You didn't come back when you usually do." Martin stated as he approached the stump, "What do you do out here anyway?"

Jackson pointed down to a small hollow at the base of the stump; it was filled with small wooden carvings of various animals. Each looked exactly like the animal it was mimicking, except smaller and wooden. The detail on them was incredible. "It helps me clear my head."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just- I've got a lot on my mind."

"Like what?"

"I realized that I haven't talked to my parents in almost 10 years. The last time I called them was about a year after I took that job. I'm not even sure if they're still around."

"You could always call them now."

"Are you kidding? I'd be lucky if they even spat in my direction now!"

"It would be better than sitting out here all day wondering about it." He tugged his shirt sleeve, "Come on; let's go inside."

~0~0~0~

Jackson crossed his arms over his chest tightly as the plane streaked through the sky.

"Are you ill?" Martin shot a sideways glance towards him.

"No."

"Scared?"

"No."

"Nervous?"

"No."

"Fine, I was only trying to help." Martin sighed as he put some headsets on.

They remained silent until they got off the plane and entered the airport. It was packed with large, muscular, mustached men, and strongly built women, a couple of which also had mustaches, somehow. Jackson stood at least a head above all of them, and stuck out like a big, fat, red thumb. A huge cacophony filled the airport, and someone had apparently started a fistfight at customs.

As they made their way through the burly crowd, Martin noticed people staring at Jackson as they walked. Apparently everyone deemed Martin a foreigner, however, and paid no attention to him. When they got to their taxi, the driver glared at Jackson as he climbed into the car, and refused to speak with him the whole drive and only took directions from Martin.

They were dropped off about a mile away from their destinations at a small diner, the drivers reasoning? "I can't stand that freak in my car anymore."

"That was rude!" Martin said as he flipped off the cab driver as he drove away.

"You get used to it after a while…" Jackson said bitterly as he picked up his suitcase.

"What are you talking about?" Martin was still glaring at the road, even though the taxi had disappeared.

"I'm part Aboriginal. For some reason people got it in their heads that they were evil, and even though segregation was outlawed, we're still treated like dirt." Jackson kicked a rock, "That's the exact reason why I didn't want to come back here in the first place. Come on, we'd better start walking."

~0~0~0~

After following the road in the scorching heat, with storm clouds overhead, threatening to burst at any moment, they finally arrived at their destination.

"Ugh, I thought it was winter here." Martin panted as they stepped onto the porch.

"This is Australia; it never cools down." Jackson laughed as he knocked on the door of the red house.

A plump, elderly woman answered the door, upon seeing the tall man; she froze, and then broke into tears as she pulled him into a bone crushing hug.

"H-hey mum…" he gasped, his lungs being crushed.

"My baby's b-back!" She blubbered, "Where have you been?!"

~0~0~0~

After he was finally released from the death-hug, Jackson was dragged into the house as Lizzie demanded to know everything that had happened. Then she noticed Martin, who explained that he was escorting Jackson because of his blindness; this caused Lizzie to go into a panic.

"How could this happen?! Are you okay?!"

"Yes, mum, I'm fine…"

"My poor, poor baby!"

Martin rolled his eyes and began looking at the three photos which lined the mantle of a large fireplace at the other end of the room. The was a picture of a gorgeous woman and a young girl, but the father was ripped out of the picture, all that remained of him was a dark hand which rested on the girls shoulder. The picture in the center was of a beautiful woman, who bore a striking resemblance to the young girl in the other picture, a big, muscular man who looked exactly like every other man he had seen in the airport, and a skinny, lanky young boy who looked like a younger version of Jackson. The last picture was of a woman in a sundress frowning, with a young boy and girl on either side of her. A large assortment of wooden carvings of various animals surrounded them.

A short elderly man walked in and began to yell at Jackson. Martin looked at him and back to the picture. It was obviously the same man, but, deflated. Martin only half-listened to the argument, because he felt that it wasn't his place to say anything, but what he did hear was a series of curses and profanity. In the end; Jackson stormed out the backdoor instinctively, and, before he could lock himself in his office, Lizzie berated him. They were silenced by a large clap of thunder and the sound of heavy rain falling on the roof.

~0~0~0~

Jackson followed the path he had walked many times as a child. It was almost exactly as he had remembered, minus a few misplaced rocks. He felt his way through the brush, which had overgrown in the time he had been gone, and found the hollow tree and boulder by the stream.

The tree however, was truly hollow, and his small wooden creations were missing. He shrugged it off and assumed that they had rotted away by now. He felt the atmosphere get heavier, and felt his way towards the small cave not too far from there. On his way over there, he heard a blood-curdling screech. The source of this was something large and wounded. He walked towards it, and heard it thrash around.

He ran his hand over its back, it was long and rough, obviously a crocodile. As his hand grazed its lower back however, it screeched in pain again, its tail was missing. A loud clap of thunder shook the forest, and he heaved the beast onto his back, ignoring its protests, and carried it to the cave as rain poured down.

Inside the cave, he listened to the steady flow of rain outside. The crocodile eventually calmed down, and lay against his leg. In the span of an hour, several other animals had found refuge from the storm in the same cave. They all sat on or next to Jackson, sharing body heat with each other, completely forgetting about eating or attacking each other.

Soon they were all unconscious; hypnotized by the rhythmic pounding of the rain.