Chapter 1: Talk About Backseat Drivers
It was hard to hear above the sound of car engines, horns, and casual chatter as he readied for work that morning. Having overslept and rushed to work late, he hadn't had time for his usual morning coffee, which dulled almost all his senses. The commotion going on around him was familiar and drained into one solid cloud of noise that he effectively managed to tune out. Though there was nothing in the world that he could have mistaken for the mischievous call of his name from a very certain someone, "Ohhh Jackie!"
Startled, the sudden shout caused him to jolt upwards, hitting the back of his head hard on the roof of the taxi he had yet to get into. Clenching his teeth, the older man tenderly felt the newly-formed welt on the back of his shaved head, holding back a curse as he made sure not to hit it again when straightening. The figure of a young teenager greeted him as they made their way forward, though he knew exactly who it was without looking. "Terra," Jack forced out, biting his tongue at the fresh wave of pain that wracked across his scalp.
"What's going on with my favorite cab driver today?" Making her way across the street, the teen didn't even flinch at the loud blaring of a car horn as another taxi screeched to a stop right beside her. Those green eyes had remained trained on him, filled with amusement of all things, and Jack just shook his head in disbelief.
"I can't give you any free rides today," he sighed, "Dominic's been catching on, and he's practically breathing down my neck now when it comes to the money I bring back." Clutching her heart in exaggeration, Terra jutted out her lower lip, "Aw man…and here I was thinking I could get a ride over to that crazy alien festival starting up in town." Widening her eyes, she tried to appear as innocent and helpless as possible, though they both knew it wasn't working. It was a technique she'd used when she was younger, but it'd unfortunately lost it's appeal when she'd reached about sixteen. A hollow laugh escaped Jack's lips as he watched her nevertheless, "Why would you of all people, want to go to that?"
Terra's pale pink lips quickly curved up into a smirk. She'd always loved playing around with him. "Why Jack? Do you not believe in any other form of life out there in that big ole' universe?"
"Frankly, I don't care what's on another planet out there, because right now," the car horns grew louder behind them, adding to his irritation, "I'm just trying to survive what's on ours."
The teen laughed while draping her arms over the open car door, showing off the excess material of her much-too-big jacket. "So how about that ride?" she winked cheekily. Jack looked back at her, a grin slowly crawling onto his face at her persistence, though he could do little more than study the freckles across her nose. She looked so grown up with her fiery red hair tied back in a braid, but the brown beanie sitting atop her head reinforced the fact she was just a teen. She was growing up so fast. Jack had never said no to her before, and he certainly didn't know if he'd be able to start now. "I guess so," he settled with a smile, "Hop on in, I've gotta get the keys first."
Reclining into the worn material of the backseat, Terra let out a brief sigh of contentment. She'd always enjoyed riding around with Jack. He'd been an old friend of her father's before he had passed a couple years back, and since then, he'd provided a sort of safe haven for the teen. No matter the time, Terra often found herself strolling on over to the taxi hub when it was his shift and riding around for hours; it'd become habit to mindlessly converse with his passengers since Jack always liked to play the strong and silent role. As far as she knew, he didn't mind giving her rides or talking every once and awhile, which was all she wanted. The rest of the time, she just stayed out of his way, not wanting to ruin the one good thing she had by being annoying.
Terra just needed an escape from the crummy orphanage she was forced to stay in by the state, and Jack gratefully understood that.
Her attention was soon caught by the sight of a black SUV rolling into the station, its driver deciding to pull up right in front of the taxi she was seated in as Jack came around to start the car. A disgruntled sigh came from the man when he too noticed the same thing, "Hey look guys, you gotta move this thing. I've got to go."
"Jack," came the purr of a large, well-dressed man as he stepped out of the SUV with a smile on his face, "You don't return phone calls anymore?" Refusing to interact, her friend spun around, only to be greeted by another large man whose devilish smirk peered through his brown beard like that of a snarling dog. "Mr. Wolfe thinks you're being rude," he tutted.
Trying to appear unphased, Jack straightened out his spine, rolling back his shoulders casually. "Oh yeah? Well, tell Wolfe when I said it was the last time, I meant it."
Disapproval marred the faces of both men, and soon the two began to circle him like animals. Terra tensed, sliding closer to the taxi door in case Jack needed backup, fully prepared to help however she could. It was at the sound of one of the men growling angrily, that she paused, her hand on the door handle. "Mr. Wolfe gets to decide when it's the last time, not you."
"He likes you Jackie," the other sneered, "He hates to see your God-given driving talents go to waste giving fat tours or cab rides up and down the strip. I mean, what kind of life is that?" Calculating the best plan of attack, Terra realized she probably shouldn't have been listening in on what they were discussing. Just hearing the name Mr. Wolfe could potentially get her tangled up in whatever mess Jack was in as well, but her curiosity got the better of her as she pressed herself in between the front seats to hear more. After all, she'd need something to tell the police if it came down to a fight.
"It's what I'm late for." Arm extending, Jack tried again to make it to the driver's door, but this time was stopped by one of the large man's hands gripping his shoulder. Within seconds, Jack had both men face down on the hood of the yellow taxi, causing Terra to gasp. She had never seen Jack do anything more than yell at the windshield. She never would've guessed that he'd be capable of doing something like punching two men and pinning them by their throats to the hood of a car! It was like something out of an action movie!
"Do you have a death wish?" one of them muttered into the metal of the cab's hood. "I drive a cab in Vegas," he stated, releasing the tight grip he had on their necks while going to the driver's door, as if that was answer enough. Terra merely gawked at his audacity.
"You're dead Jack," one man barked out from under the hand that clutched his probably dented nose, reaching within the jacket of his suit to pull something out before the sound of a police siren caught them all by surprise.
"Hey," the officer shouted from his open window, "What are you guys doing? Are you insane? Move this thing out of the taxi zone before I give you a ticket!"
The tension was tangible as everyone decided what they were going to do. Terra dug her nails lightly into the interior of the cab as her heart began to thud in her ears. Yet despite the moment of hesitation, both men begrudgingly withdrew their hands from their coats and trudged back to their vehicle, but not before sending a menacing glare back Jack's way. "See you soon Jack," came the threat that caused goosebumps to spring up along Terra's arms.
Carefully watching the two men climb back into their big SUV and drive off, Jack calmed down enough to slide into the driver's seat. Releasing a breath, he spared a glance to the rear-view mirror, his expression seeming guilty. "Sorry you had to see that."
Grinning, Terra positioned herself comfortably back in her seat as they drove off down the avenue, "You're definitely going to have to show me some of those moves."
It wasn't until a few seconds later she felt a warmth at either side of her body, as if someone were within close proximity. Green eyes sweeping in both directions, Terra was extremely confused to see a boy and girl sitting in the cab next to her, their identical blue eyes wandering all around and ogling her as if she were an enigma herself. Back ramrod straight, the teen felt a sudden chill wash over her body, the goosebumps once there from anticipation, now standing due to fear. "Um...Jack?" she called uneasily, catching the eye of the young girl to her right.
Her face was simple, yet undeniably beautiful. A round palette of pale white skin that gave way to a small nose and thin lips that held the faintest trace of a smile. Light blonde hair fell to her shoulders, slightly unkempt and dirty from what Terra had assumed was traveling while her clothing remained for the most part, clean. Dark lashes fluttered as her wide blue eyes blinked at her, and for a second, Terra thought herself hypnotized for she'd never seen a girl her age with such a face. It was when Jack's eyes lastly glanced back to the rear-view mirror to see what was wrong that almost instantly his foot landed on the break, bringing the car to a complete stop in the middle of the road.
Jerking around to physically see the two new passengers, Jack stared dumbfounded at the teens, "Where'd you two come from?"
"Outside," the teenage boy answered to her left as nonchalantly as ever. His casualness did not sit well with Terra, however, as she was finally beginning to register the fact that the two had literally just materialized at her sides. Clearly, her older friend was also bothered as his tone took on a slight edge, "Yeah, I figured that part out on my own. How'd you get in my car?"
"Through that portal," the girl replied as they both uncertainly pointed to the doors on either side of the car. "I'm Seth," the boy spoke up again, not an ounce of humor in his voice, "This is my sister Sarah. We require your transportation services immediately."
"Really?" Jack asked sarcastically, not willing to entertain these two kids, "Well, I require_" "Currency transaction," Sarah interrupted, looking to her brother as he unzipped a large duffel bag at his feet and held a wad of cash out to Jack. The sheer amount of bills in his hand nearly caused the redhead between them to faint for she had never seen so much money.
"Will this amount suffice?" Both Terra and Jack looked to the cash in question, soon tossing each other confused glances before any more continued with these strange siblings. The same question was being thrown around in both their heads at that current moment, keeping either of them from saying a word – was all this really happening? "What'd you two do, rob a bank?" Terra questioned, trying to figure out how else two young teens could come across that much money.
"Is this acceptable Jack Bruno?"
Terra stiffened at the sound of Jack's whole name, allowing her light green eyes to travel to Sarah's face once more. "How'd you know my name?" the cab driver demanded, just as offset by the occurrence. The pale-skinned girl timidly pointed to his driver's license displayed on the dashboard of the car, causing Terra and Jack both to huff in relief. For a second there, she'd thought the girl was some kind of super-human. Terra nearly laughed aloud at the ridiculous assumption.
"If we've obtained your services, we must move forward rapidly," Seth leaned forward, pressing against his seatbelt in a strangely desperate manner. Terra looked to him as she had his sister, taking in the green of his shirt and the brown jacket which accentuated his broad shoulders. The combination brought light to the fact that his lean frame was certainly not lacking in muscle. Flickering her gaze upwards, the sharpness of his jaw lastly caught her attention as it laid the foundation for two very pink lips, and Terra found herself lingering on them briefly for some odd reason. Sharing the same light blonde hair as his sibling, his had a bit more dirt layered across the short ends with a smear of the same substance dirtying his chiseled cheekbones. All the while, determined blue eyes were glued to the face of her older companion and refused to budge until his demands were met.
Terra had to admit, a strange buzz ignited along her senses at the sight of him for the smallest of seconds, for he was undeniably attractive like his sibling. Shaking her head rigorously was the only thing that managed to return her to reality, and the teen silently tucked the sensation away as a mere swoon over a fetching young boy. After all, they were still acting incredibly weird.
"It is urgent we get to our destination without delay," Seth finished, jaw set in finality.
Finally aware of the honking echoing around them, Terra interjected, hoping to get moving one way or another. "Jack, there are cars behind us." Such a statement brought both the blondes' eyes back to her in scrutiny, to which she simply shrugged, wondering what she'd done to earn their narrowed gazes. "Alright, alright! I'm going!" he called to the swarm of beeping cars behind them. "Where to?"
Seth pulled some small electronic device from the pocket of his jeans, touching the screen continuously while silence began to fill the cab. "I need an address," Jack sounded rather impatiently. "We must travel in that direction." Sarah pointed forward, causing Terra's brows to draw together in disbelief. A direction? That's all they had to go on?
"Well, I'm going to need something a little more specific than just that direction," the cab driver huffed. Shifting in his seat, Seth looked to be reading numbers off the minuscule device, his eyes squinting in concentration, "Uh…we must locate a latitude of four-o point five four, cross intersecting longitude_" Jack placed a hand out to stop Seth mid-sentence, knowing things would only get more complicated. "I think we'll just stick with that direction."
A small smile passed over Terra's lips for a few seconds, only to disappear when Jack looked back to her through the mirror again. "Do you want me to drop you off first? I don't know where it is they're going, but_" "We must continue our route without any distractions," Seth insisted, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"Hey now, this is my car and I will drive wherever I want, whenever I want," Jack glared back, reminding Terra of a parent scolding their child. Once the tension between the two males had eased as Seth seemingly understood who was in charge, Jack again caught his friend's eye. "Now, do you want me to drop you off first?" "Well, I_" "Please Terra," a sudden coolness accompanied the words as a hand came to gently touch her shoulder. Turning her head, the redhead was surprised to see an almost pleading look contorting Sarah's face, "You may be of assistance to my brother and I."
Startled at how the girl knew her name, Terra nodded tentatively, an uncomfortable sense of insecurity heightening her shoulders. "How did she know my name? I don't remember anyone mentioning my name this whole ride." Broken from her thoughts by Seth as he glowered over to his sister, his blue eyes began to scan Terra up and down in scrutiny, causing the teen in question to scowl. "How could she possibly assist us?" a bite clipped the end of his question, unknowingly causing Terra's chest to ache as if she'd been physically struck. "I have told you Sarah, we are to trust no one here - not even her."
"Well gee thanks," the redhead retorted sarcastically, trying to hide the pain as she herself didn't even understand why it affected her so. At least now she knew his personality did not match up to his looks and wouldn't have to worry about catching unnecessary feelings. Why was it that the best-looking people were always the worst?
"Please, ignore my brother's harsh tone," Sarah soothed at her other side, "He is not very trusting of people we have not met before." Her large blue eyes studied Terra as Jack continued to drive in silence, remaining on the redhead's face for longer than what was sociably acceptable.
In an effort to avoid the prolonged awkward eye contact, she flashed a glance over to Seth once again, only to find his own gaze having been fixated on the back of her head. A clash of blue and green occurred suddenly, their locked eyes battling in silence before a strange sensation began to flood her body and like honey, a warm buzz of energy started to flow down from the top of her head, all the way to her feet, causing the teen to sink comfortably back into the seat of the cab. Terra could feel a rush of heat burning in her cheeks, carrying up to the tips of her ears as Seth soundlessly refused to look away from her.
Her breathing became labored as her thoughts momentarily stilled, yet she couldn't get herself to look away from the large ocean blue orbs in front of her. They moved like waves crashing against the waters of a rough sea, though despite the chaos she could still make out an underlying calm, which kept her mind at ease. While she did not know what was happening, she was surprisingly not afraid. The sensations rippling through her body were welcome, and not an inch of her seemed to resist.
Another second went by and his hands noticeably clenched and unclenched several times at his sides, his left foot coming to tap quickly against the floorboard. With a shroud of heat encasing her, she could do little more than watch, following his movements with her glassy eyes. Seeing the rough cracks at the edge of his fingertips called to Terra in an unfamiliar way, abruptly urging her to make contact, to experience the feeling of his touch.
Yet just as her hand moved on its own accord towards his own, Seth's gaze narrowed, shattering the blanket of calmness that had been laid over her. Unapologetically, he turned, his eyes glaring out the window while his teeth clenched in what appeared to be anger. Terra too was glaring, though her attention was aimed at the back of his blonde head. Catching herself, she again shook her head, taking in a few deep breaths to properly think over what had just happened. Was any of that real? Had she just hallucinated? What in the world was going on?
Unaware of the fact that her eyes visibly dilated, Terra slumped back in her seat tiredly, a pit now settled in her chest. Thinking over all that had just occurred, she also noticed a subtle warmth causing the skin on her left side to tingle though the same could not be said for her right. Brows furrowed, the teen crossed her arms along her chest, becoming even more uncomfortable at the wide smile stretching Sarah's face when she realized his sister had witnessed that entire encounter.
What was with these two?
Update: June 2019
Hey gang! Long time no see!
I am well aware of how long it has been since I've updated this story, and I am also aware that it is technically completed. While I should be working on finishing my others stories, I couldn't help but go back and re-read this one as it's the only one I've ever finished. I ended up falling back in love with the characters and the movie, and felt I could give our old gal a face lift. So that's what's going to happen!
I'm going to go through and revise each chapter, to give a better flow to the story, and hope you all don't mind tagging along with me one more time! Pay attention to the upper left-head corner of each chapter where it has the titles, and if it has a RV 2019 next to the name, I have successfully completed rewriting that chapter.
Thank you so much for all of your support and comments during the initial run of this story! I hope I can make this version even better than the last!
