Jim's Gym Journey

Chapter 1 - All Aboard!

The sun had long since set. Yellow lighting threw shadows across the rows of gym equipment. Jim pushed the trolley of cleaning supplies over to the treadmills closest to the automatic doors. The small wheels clattered over the cracked linoleum. One of the treadmills was still running. The tired rubber belt creaked as it cycled through, causing the machine to shudder in place. He turned it off. Its abandonment was likely the direct result of the chattering gaggle of children he had seen leaving as he started his shift. He tried to cast his mind back to a time when he was the same. Twenty years since he had left his alma mater, he had found himself working as a school janitor. He had imagined when he signed up for the job that he would find himself in the same grandfatherly role that seemed to be a given throughout the ages. He had even grown out a moustache with that purpose in mind, silvery white and bristling. Maybe children were different these days. Maybe he just wasn’t the approachable type anymore. He moved onto wiping down handles. A few minutes in, he heard the automatic doors swinging open. A child raised its tiny voice into a shrill squeak. “Thank you, mister janitor, sir!” it yelled, infuriatingly bubbly , as it scampered out of the gym, narrowly missing the doors as they drew back together. Jim wasn’t sure how to respond, if a response was even what he was supposed to give. He kept his head down, pretending not to hear anything. An inkling of guilt trickled into his conscience, but he pushed it down, like he had always done. He usually enjoyed the silence that came with working after hours. But the building seemed to hold its breath, as if…waiting. Jim shook his head to dispel the thought. He had checked the windows were closed as he entered. Nevertheless, a draught seemed to be getting in

somehow. It swept over the room with a soft whistle , the cold settling into his aching bones. Somewhat shaken, he prematurely moved onto the next room. The door to the administrative section was heavy and built too close to the floor. He usually had to throw his weight behind it to get it open. This time, however, the rusted handle yielded without resistance and it swung open silently. Somebody must have finally oiled the hinges. Jim shut the door behind him and turned into the room, intending to continue his routine. He took a step before doing a double take. Instead of the administrative section, he found himself standing at the automatic doors to the main room again, on the opposite side of the gym. He didn’t remember walking over there. Odd enough, sure, but he was willing to dismiss it as a sign of old age. His ex- wife had always warned him, Jim, if you don’t start taking things seriously, you’ll start losing it. He was never really listening at the time, although some part of him was starting to wish he had been. Fresh air is what he really needed, he decided, his mind already made up to duck out for a while to restock his spray bottles. Then walk around a bit to clear his mind. Yeah. The door didn’t recognise him immediately, so he stepped around a bit in a kind of solemn dance to activate the motion sensor. That did the trick. The doors parted with a faint whirr. Jim stared past them for a while. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, then blinked back up. It was unchanged. Extending from the exit, the outside world had vanished. In its place, there was the same main room of the gym, machines lined up in silent grey rows. He quickly marched over to the other door, beginning to panic, and soon broke into a run. Door after door after door opened into the same room. The gym began to change, the walls shrinking in and the ceilings squaring off. Jim ran, and the endless sequence of rooms seemed to shift and contract, as if breathing. The maze became a fractal, looping back and converging in on itself. After what felt like years, but may have been only a minute, he fell to his knees in exhaustion. His chest heaved as he caught his breath, desperation unwinding like a coil in his heart and catching in his throat until his eyes burned. Something shifted in the corner of his field of vision, and he jumped to his feet, snapping to alertness like a rubber band under tension. Twenty paces away, there was the figure of a woman.

Chapter 2 - This is Your Conductor Speaking... The figure was smaller than average, with wild, unkempt hair tamed in an ominous purple turban. Her short stature was balanced by a pair of purple, 6-inch stilettos. She sat crouched; a patched lavender skirt and galaxy shawl spread out on the floor around her. Elaborate gold bangles dangled from every limb. She was hunched over a set of makeshift tarot cards and seemed to be haloed in an otherworldly, pale-blue light . A soft sound was coming from the corner where she sat. It appeared the woman was performing some form of tarot reading ritual. The sound of acrylic nails clicking on plastic cards echoed around the gym. She rapped on the top card several times, before shuffling the pile. Jim stood stunned. The woman continued to whisper in a mystic tongue. Jim stifled a laugh. He was silenced by the piercing glare of a pair of jet-green eyes. She grinned as he met her eyes, and the spell was broken, the light dissipating. “ I take it your problems must be pressing, for you interrupted my tarot reading session, ” she complained , “It is Raven Knight for all that are close to me. I foretell that you are surprised to see me,” the woman pronounced, her arms extended in a great flourishing motion, as acres of gold -plated jewellery jangled together and scattered the light in shards across the floor. She had a startingly deep voice that sounded habituated to commanding battalions or cities, which garnered the reverb that Jim had previously thought was only achievable in specialised chambers. She lowered her arms, grinning wildly, as red painted lips revealed rows of sharp yellow daggers. The performance was not quite like anything Jim had ever seen before. He stifled another laugh, this time managing to stay composed. “Well.... I - I’m surprised,” Jim stuttered. “I - I thought I’d never get out of there, that’s all.” Realising his rudeness, Jim introduced himself, “I - I’m Jim, by the way. Th - the cleaner here.” The tarot reading was forgotten. Raven stood, her heels meaning she towered over Jim. She closed her eyes and began to speak a prophecy. Jim took a step back, alarmed. “Jim ! I have been waiting for you. Or someone like you. I guess you’ll do. I’m a teacher by day, fortune teller by night. I can read tarots and palms, as long as there’s light. “The tarot cards don’t lie, do they Jim. They say that the future of life here is dim. I’ve been here for ages, trapped in fear, but the prophecies tell me that the escape is near! You and I

must go henceforth and search for treasure of great worth. Buried down under, with no set shape, this train holds the key to our escape.” Jim couldn’t believe it. He had hoped to escape, and yet here he was, stuck on some train, with a mad woman as his only companion. Jim cleared his throat faintly, attempting to take control of the situation. “I was wondering, er, how to…how I might go about…” he stumbled gruffly, before settling for a simpler approach. “Raven. W - where are we?” The woman sighed. Why must he ask the most difficult questions? To be honest, Raven couldn’t quite pinpoint the answer herself. She settled for the definition she had been given when she first ended up in this place. “A train. The train of broken memories. The train of sadness and enemies.” “A t -train. I- I thought we were in the gym. How’d we get h -here? More so, h-how do we g-get home?” Jim still hadn’t quite grasped the technique of having a conver sation with Raven. “Magic. Magic brought us here, to the situation we’re in. The way out, that journey is now to begin. Come with me and exit this carriage. I promise you we’ll escape, but it’ll be no easy passage.” Raven pivoted on her heel sharply and strode across the roomwith a grandiose air, loose satin trailing after her like an afterthought. Jim didn’t move. He was rather pleased with the recent turn of events and wasn’t ready for the let -down that the door would bring. “Oh, come on Jim, hurry up! We have places to be, treasure to find! It’s ok if you’re worried about the door, I tell you; a world of wonder awaits behind, ” Raven complained. Jim took a deep breath. Unsure of what else to do, and frankly rather lost, he followed and together they started towards the door.

Chapter 3 - The Eurostar 2.0 The second he opened the door; Jim was surrounded by the murky blue. The bubbly waves surrounded him, ruffling his hair. He looked up and saw stars. Big, bright, beautiful stars. They were moving, he realised. The stars were moving, swimming through the ocean. ‘Look at the stars,’ he marvelled. ‘I’ve never seen them move like that.’ ‘The stars that aren’t. The stars that are. How can one tell when they are that far ?’ she responded. Confused, Jim looked at her, and saw that she too was astonished by the beauty of the stars. He looked at the stars again and could just make out the bodies of whales moving through the ocean. ‘They’re whales,’ he gasped. And they were, the stars that weren’t. ‘I want to be a star; I want to be a whale.’

The stars looked so amazing from the ocean floor, among the corals and weeds. Raven was searching for something. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but she was still searching, hoping she would know it when she saw it. Jim raised his arm and pointed at something off in the distance. At first it seemed like a trick of the light , but upon closer inspection, Raven saw it. An absolutely majestic school of Australian Bass. Jim’s mouth dropped in awe. Raven almost jumped up in excitement. Then she remembered herself. She had to guide him to the end.

‘ I wish for you to follow that fish!’ she exclaimed. Jim hesitated, ‘No, they look so happy. We shouldn’t disturb them. We won’t be able to keep up with them.’ Sorrow filled his heart, he wasn’t sure why, but looking at all those fish swimming in one big happy group reminded him of his own endeavours. ‘ The fish is going. Come Jim, let us be flowing !’ she was scared, the fish were swimming away. She was about to lose her chance. Jim was starting to walk away, following the current, taking the easy r oute. She could feel her freedom slipping away. ‘This is your chance to join the school. Follow the fish, you must be cool !’ she cried. Jim realised she was right. This was his chance, he had to follow the fish. He wasn’t going to fall behind this time. He started pushing against the current, this time in the direction of the school. Raven let out a sigh of relief and followed. The current changed, it helped them, urged them towards the fish. Jim felt determination pump through him, driving him to the school, away from his worries. After a few moments of fear, unsure if they would be able to catch up, the janitor and his guide reached their group. Jim was a part of the school at last. All of a sudden, without any warning, the group of fish stopped. They began to swim about each other in a flurry of movement and, not a moment later, they began to slow down, they swam into a shape. It was the shape of a camera. Looking through the ‘lens’ of the fish camera, Jim saw an actual camera. He had never seen such an elaborate camera. There were at least 20 different buttons on it, for all sorts of settings, from adjusting the dioptre to locking the focus, there was a button for everything on this camera. ‘ Answers be found when you look for a nook ,’ Raven gestured to the camera. He lifted it to his eyes and looked through the lens. His eyes were flooded with a slideshow of pictures from his life. He saw his home, his gym, spotless, and he saw his mop. After the photos passed, he saw the ocean he was currently floating in. However, there was something new in this ocean. He saw a door, similar to the one he stepped through from the gym cart. He put the camera down and there it was. The door. He was certain it wasn’t there before. Raven gasped. She gestured to him to open the door. They stepped through together.

Chapter 4 - Under the Tunnel The cart they found themselves in was bright. Jim could see numerous lightbulbs hanging off the walls and the ceiling. Aside from them, the room was a blank canvas. Nothing but an empty, white expanse. Walking through the room, the sound of Raven’s stilettos echoed. “ We are no longer swimming through space, but what are we meant to do in this empty pl ace?” “I don’t know ! I’m not the fortune - teller here!” Suddenly, the room felt dimmer. A lightbulb had gone out. But not just one. Lightbulbs kept going out in quick succession. Parts of the white walls were turning black, and the duo felt like the floor was disappearing from under them.

“Why? Why is the room getting darker?” Raven said. Strange, Jim thought. She was no longer rhyming. It was almost like he could feel a terrified aura emanating from her, but he figured he was imagining it. There was no way all of Raven’s magic talk was real. Either way, her fear of the dark was clear as day. Jim looked around, trying to find a light that was on. He needed to get his bearings. He found one beaming through the darkness, but once he looked at it, it turned off. In fact, every bulb he found disappeared as soon as it appeared in his vision. He panicked. “Please , don’t leave me! I need you!” Jim shouted. “Jim, are you -? ” The floor started to crack underneath them. A large chasm had formed, separating the pair. Raven lied down, quivering in fear. Jim kept looking for a light , but they kept disappearing right before his eyes. He was afraid.

But then, a familiar voice broke through the pain. Raven called out from across the vast expanse, her voice bellowing across the room. She told him to find the camera, so they could leave this torture. In that moment, Jim realised that he was not alone, not anymore. He had a Knight by his side, and she would guide him through the darkness. With his head cleared, he could see the objective. One light refused to leave. It was flickering, getting dimmer and dimmer, but it refused to go. The light showed it to him: a digital SLR camera. It glistened in the light , promising to set Jim free. He needed it, but there was something stopping him. It was on the other side of the divide.

“Raven, you need to get the camera!” “No, I don’t want to move. It’s not safe!” “ D on’t worry , Raven ! I’ m here for you.”

Jim’s encouragement was enough for her to overcome her fear. She stood up, walking slowly to her destination, trembling. The shaking ground slowed her down, and the light was going out. She tripped on her dress, but she kept going. She was nearly there; she could feel it. The light went out. She couldn’t see anything . She was afraid, but she had to find it, for Jim. She had to escape this trap and find the treasure. She needed it, and she knew it. The willpower she had deep inside blazed out, and she felt around for the camera. She found it. The lights came back on, turning the room back to its white, pristine state. The chasm closed, and the two of them were reunited once again. He looked through the lens of the camera and found the door. “ Finally, out of that horrific trial. I won’t try to face my fear for quite a while! ” “Don’t worry Raven, you won’t have to. Come on, let’s go get that treasure!” Jim realised, as he was opening the door, that he was going through this journey with a good friend.

Chapter 5 - A Monster Trainwreck The passageway opened to a dark hall. A cold breeze brushed down Jim’s neck as they walked into a dimly lit room, their footprints echoing on the stone floor. An uneasy feeling fell upon the room that seemed to weigh upon their shoulders. Jim instinctively took a breath in but was met with a weight pushing down onto his lungs. His gaze flicked to Raven who played nervously with her bracelet. He knew she felt it too. A muffed yelp cut through the silence. Raven inhaled sharply. “There’s somethi ng in here, ” he breathed, eyes straining to see. From the corner of the room a shadow let out a low growl. The silhouette shifted uneasily. A pair of beady eyes flicked open and fell onto the two. Raven grimaced. “This isn’t good, no not at all. It’s a horrifying beast and he’s challenging us to a brawl.” The beast brought its feet down with a crash, sending a vibration through the floor. The dull light illuminated a pointed face, etched with shadows. Bucking its head up, it let out an ear bleeding roar. “A DRAGON?” Jim yelled, ears still ringing. “A frilly neck lizard is its name . They’re usually much smaller this I'm afraid ” she joked wryly. “At least we found the camera.” They glanced up at the small device hanging from around its neck. Jim backed away slightly as the lizard fell forward. He looked into its eyes, so dark the light itself seemed to be engulphed by it. The reptile glared at him. From his neck, a frill of skin extended up around his face. Jim jumped back, his breath getting caught in his chest.

“ Maybe it ’ s hungry ?” He stammered. The animal advanced forward, agitatedl y hissing. Jim yelped, falling onto the floor. “Maybe not. So , what? I must kill it? That’s a bit extreme.” “Maybe violence isn’t the answer , ” she muttered, eyes unwavering from the animal. “It looks like it wants to eat us, what else can I do?” He scrambled away from a whip-like tail. Raven pointed a finger towards its foot. A long spear emerged from the side of its leg, puncturing its thick skin. “It’s…in pain.” Raven nodded.

“The ones who hurt us the most usually are. ” Jim swallowed dryly, nodding in agreement. Holding his hands up, he edged himself towards the lizard. “Hey…I’m a friend. I just want to help , ” he began, ignoring the tremor in his voice. The lizard shrieked in response. “Err Raven. I don’t think it wants my help . ” “Let him know you’re a friend , ” she yelled from across the room. “Why don’t you tell him, ” he replied, twisting his neck to look at her. She shrugged, her bangles jingling. The lizard’s head shot up to look at her. “Wait, Raven. Do that again.” Raven obliged, waving her arms around. The animal’s head cocked to one side. “ Marvellous. ” she remarked. “Not just marvellous , that’s our way out , ” Jim exclaimed, “Keep doing that . I ’ll try remove this spear.” As Raven distracted it , Jim started to creep towards the lizard’s leg. As he approached, he heard the reptile’s breathing echoing in its chest, rising and falling rhythmically. He moved quickly, knowing any moment it could break from its trance. The wood felt cold against his palm. Breathing deeply, Jim pulled it out with one clean motion. The animal screeched as it reached around to assess the damage. Jim dodged it and ran to Raven, letting the spear fall with a clatter. The two watched as the lizard licked it’s wound before turning to face them. Sniffing them, it closed its black eyes peacefully letting the camera slide down its neck. Raven unclipped it gently from its cord and placed it in Jim’s hand. With a grunt of thanks, the lizard padded back to its corner and disappeared into the darkness. “You ok?” she asked wearily. Jim sighed heavily, nodding as he turned to look at the camera. “Yeah… yeah. Let ’ s go find that treasure." Raven grinned as he held the camera up to his eye and looked into the lens. With a look of approval, she followed Jim out of the hall and through the doorway to the next cart.

Chapter 6 - Changing Tracks Jim stared. The eucalyptus trees towered, branches weaving in a lattice of green. He knew this place. He remembered, when his hands were small and made shapes in the mud, dragons and fairies and knights on adventures, when those hands reached up to branches and climbed until that blue sky adorned his eyes and his chest didn’t feel so heavy anymore. When his hand was clas ped in another’s, that boy with the earth-brown eyes and the smile like stars, running and jumping as if the world would never end. “I feel as though I’ve seen this place,” Raven said, that look in her eyes like she could see the entire universe at once, “the time has come to end our chase.” And yeah, Jim could feel it too. He looked around for the camera, and walked, Jim and Raven, side by side. “Look,” Jim said, worn hands gesturing to a family of koalas, the little joey clinging to the mother. They continued, and between eucalypts and fronds they saw families of kookaburras laughing together, tree-kangaroos climbing, father and son nose-to-tail, and four Hastings River mice making their way across the forest floor. Suddenly, a bird cry pierced the air, lonely and desperate like a strangled bell. Jim looked around until he saw a willy wagtail, trapped in a kangaroo thorn. It was alone, no other birds to help, and for a second Jim saw the forest as he saw it now, great eucalypts reduced to stumps, barren and abandoned. “To be trapped is a terrible thing,” Raven muttered, eyes mournful, “to see the sky, we must free its wings.” “I know,” Jim said. They both knew, too well. Together they untangled the willy wagtail, and it rustled free, flapping its wings. It looked to Jim and Raven with earth-brown eyes, and as it flew away the light caught the white of its wings, shining like stars. Raven smiled, softly, and for the first time in Jim’s life, he felt seen. A flash of pastel pink caught his eye, and there, nestled between the leaves of the kangaroo thorn , was a pink polaroid camera. “The last camera has been found,” Raven exclaimed, “away, to find the buried treasure in the ground!” Jim laughed, her delight infectious, and held up the camera to his eyes. Through it he could see a glint of light . Jim grabbed Raven’s hand, and they ran, like knights on an adventure, like fairies darting between trees, like the world would never end. They arrived at an inconspicuous brown patch of mud. They dug, searching for the buried treasure, until Jim’s hand knocked against something wooden. It was a chest, rough-hewn from eucalyptus trees. “It feels ancient,” Jim said, and lifted the lid of the chest. Inside was a gold crown. He reached out to grab it, but Raven pointed to the inside of the chest. An inscription . He read, “ With the whistle of a train, you have journeyed far and wide. Past bubbly waters, though not lost in the tide. The light was fading, but you muddled through, and hungry monsters can be enemies, but maybe friends will do. Now you have found the gold , the battle fought and won, and yet your trials are not yet done. You face a choice: save yourself, and abandon your friend, or take a chance, and stick with them till the end?”

Jim looked to Raven. “Do you know what this means?” Raven nodded, slowly. “It is as written. Save yourself, or together, we face the unknown gi ven.” Jim startled. “I’m not - I'm not going to leave you, Raven,” he stuttered, hands trembling, “ I can’t abandon you to save myself, I just can’t.” Raven shook her head furiously. “Do not say no, just save yourself and go!” she shouted, but her eyes were scared. Jim held her hands. “No, Raven, don’t you see? Throughout this whole journey, you have taught me how to be kind, how to be brave. How to accept myself. If I abandon you now, then all of that means nothing. And...and I couldn’t bear the thought o f losing my best friend .” And now Raven saw, and they leaned together like birds, their arms folding around each other like wings. And they let themselves cry.

Chapter 7 - Final Destination Jim woke up and, as he gazed around him, he saw the familiar setting of the gym, with its full- length mirrors and rows upon rows of intimidating equipment. Sighing in relief, he looked at his reflection in the mirror and, though he did not look any different physically, something had changed about him. He had this newfound energy, this aura of kindness and approachability. He wondered if perhaps his entire journey through the train had been a dream, yet it had felt so real. As if to answer his question, he noticed a ray of sunshine glinting off an object hidden behind the foot of the treadmill beside him. He was drawn to it, intrigued by its other-worldly air. He reached out for it and, with a gentle nudge, the object revealed itself to be the pastel pink camera from the final cart in the train. A broad smile swept across Jim’s face as he realised that it hadn’t been a dream. Suddenly, the polaroid camera started to whirr as a picture was dispensed. Jim stared in fascination as colour gradually appeared, like magic, on the blank film, producing an image of the luscious forest with the soaring eucalypts from the final cart. In the centre stood Raven, her mystical shawl draped over her shoulders and her vivid green eyes shining through the picture.

“Raven!” Jim exclaimed out loud, even though he was the only one in the gym. It had completely slipped his mind that he hadn’t been the only person on the train. If the camera had returned to the real world with him, then it would make sense that Raven would have too, wouldn’t it? Frantically, he jumped up and started to search for the eccentric fortune-teller behind all the gym equipment, in the supply closet, at the basketball court, in

the changeroom … just everywhere! To his disappointment, Raven was nowhere to be seen. Giving up on his search, Jim decided to clean himself up before the school day started. When he returned to the supply closet, he noticed a colourful shirt contrasting starkly against all his bland janitorial overalls. As he stepped out of the gym in his new attire, he was like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon: colourful, confident, captivating. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a familiar face walking down the pathway. Doing a double take, Jim realised that it was Raven, though she looked extremely different. In place of her large turban and wispy dress, her hair was fashioned in neat curls and she wore a smart ankle-length skirt. Hurriedly, Jim ran out of the gym and towards this foreign version of his new friend. “Raven!” he called out. Raven turned around to face Jim, her eyes, which had stayed the same despite her change in appearance, beaming with happiness. “Jim!” she called out in response. “What happened to you? What are you doing here? How are you here?” Jim questioned. “Slow down, Jim,” Raven laughed . “I had been asleep for a long time but, after we managed to escape from that endless train, I woke up. Before I had fallen into that slumber, I had been an English and Arts teacher at this school, so now I’m back! See, look at m y badge! Nice to meet you, I am Mrs. Nite. ” Raven extended her arm, offering a handshake. Jim shook Raven’s hand and remarked , “Wow! What are the chances that we work at the same school? I am the gym cleaner here!” “What a coincidence! It must have been written in the stars!” Raven commented. A student approached the two adults, holding a box of lamingtons. “Hey, Mrs. Nite! I heard that you were back at school, so I made some lamingtons for you! I’m just so excited to have you as my teacher again!” “Wow, thank you, Bridget! That’s so kind of you,” Raven replied . “You’re welcome!” Bridget turned her head to look at Jim, “Hi, Mr. Janitor! Would you like one as well? ” Jim recognised the child as the same one who had greeted him each evening for years , to whom he hadn’t bothered to respond. He was astounded, as no student had ever given him anything before, other than a mess to clean up. Gradually, as Jim realised that the child was genuinely offering him a lamington, a smile spread across his face and he nodded cheerily. Jim enjoyed the rest of his life, happy knowing that he could finally be himself, and doing it all with his best friend.