Chapter 8

Running in to trouble

Kyle saw Jeremiah giving Jessi a hug, and then he yelled accusations at Jessi. Kyle took off running and his feet took him to the Rack. He was not thinking clearly, it was the first time he had experienced jealousy.

Jessi was running tears falling down her face, she did not even notice that she was barefooted until she got to the forest, and a sharp branch cut the bottom of her right foot. She paid no attention to it, the pain in her broken heart was much worse.

Jessi had no place to go; unconsciously she headed towards the little cave she had hidden in after escaping the hunter. She crawled in the cave, sat on the floor, and brought her knees up to her chest, and then she put her head between her knees and started sobbing uncontrollably. She did not know what she had done to get Kyle so angry at her, but she was sure it was her fault. Had Kyle stopped loving her? The thought was too much to bear. All she could do was to continue rocking back and forth and continuing to sob.

Kyle entered the rack with red eyes and a conflicted face. Lori was sitting with Hillary, and immediately noticed the state of her brother. She called,Kyle come sit with us, what's wrong? Kyle walked towards Lori's table and plopped down on a chair. Then he put his head in his hands and started sobbing uncontrollably. Lori gave him a sisterly hug, and told Hillary; Hills please get Kyle his usual smoothie, Amanda knows what it is.

With Lori's help Kyle stopped sobbing after a few minutes and then started drinking his smoothie. His head was starting to clear.

Lori said, so Kyle spill, what's going on? Kyle said,I got upset with Jessi. Why? Lori asked.

Kyle had a hard time starting as his heart was still hurting. He managed to say, Lori when I was walking home, I saw Jessi at the door, and a boy was giving her a hug. I got so upset, I ran home and started yelling at Jessi, and then I ran out the door and came here. Kyle you mean you left Jessi alone. What were you thinking? We did not leave you alone until you were with us for at least a couple of months. Kyle felt a pang of guilt at Lori's words.

Lori continued, Kyle that was Jessi's cook mate. I heard you telling her yourself that it would be a good idea for him to help her to catch up with her cooking assignment. Kyle thought about it feeling even guiltier, and then said, but why was he giving her a hug? Lori could not believe how clueless Kyle could be she slowly explained.Kyle now tell me you have never gave a hug to your friends, what about hugging Amanda or Hills or Andy. That is probably all it was. Kyle now felt stupid at the way he had acted. Lori was right he should not have left the house in the first place. He needed to get back to Jessi, hopefully she would forgive him.

Kyle took off running to the house. He entered the door and found Nicole filling out paperwork.

Nicole said, Hi Kyle is Jessi with you? Kyle panicked, where is Jessi. He focused his hearing trying to find her heart beat. She was not home. On his way to the door, he said, mom,I need to go and find Jessi, I will explain later.

Kyle was running as fast as he could. He was not sure where to find Jessi. Then he remembered that when he first moved in with the Trager's, he had run away to the meadow where he had woken up. So he started running in the general direction to where he thought Jessi's cave was.

Jessi was still in the cave, she was calming down, she also started to get hungry and cold as she had forgotten her jacket. She thought she should go back home. Even if Kyle did not forgive her, she did not want to worry the Trager's. Plus she was planning to beg Kyle for forgiveness, maybe this time he would listen to her. She started crawling out of her cave, when she was about to stick her head out, she saw some men with riffles, dressed in camouflage attire. She was able to hear what they were saying.Mr. Cassidy said we would get a big reward if we bring 781228 XX back a life.

Michael Cassidy had a contact in Madacorp that had alerted him about Jessi and her location. He then had sent a spy to keep an eye on the house of the Trager's. The spy had alerted him when he saw Jessi running out of the house and heading to the woods. Then Cassidy had sent a group of former-marines that worked for him and his mother Grace Kinsley a powerful member of Latnok's board. Grace thought of XX and XY as her property and wanted to recover them.

Jessi remained quiet and still, all the military training that she had received at Zzyzx was paying off. When she could not hear the footsteps any longer, she peeked out and after studying the area she crawled out of the cave. She started walking and taking cover behinds the trees trying not to make noise, scanning the area with her eyes and listening attentively. She was trying to get away from the mercenaries.

Kyle was running in the woods, his only concern trying to find Jessi. He was so distracted in his own thoughts that he did not hear the steps approaching. Before he knew it he saw a group of armed men approaching. One said,it must be our lucky day, look there is 781227 XY, let's get him. Kyle jumped behind a tree, got his cell phone out and called Foss.

The mercenaries were surrounding Kyle. He knew he had no other choice but to fight, as much as he dislike fighting. He jumped as high as he could on a tree, when he saw one of the mercenaries pointing at him; he jumped on top of him knocking him out.

Four mercenaries were surrounding Kyle; He managed to take one out by sending a magnetic field his way. Then he hit another one in the back of the head with a powerful blow. At that point he heard a shot and a sharp pain on his shoulder, involuntarily he screamed in pain. Aaagh!

Jessi heard the shot, and the scream. She immediately recognized the voice belonging to Kyle. She started running towards the direction of the shot, thinking I need to help Kyle those mercenaries have him. I need to run faster, I must get there as fast as I can.

In the meantime Kyle was still trying to fight; he was feeling weak from the tranquilizer dart that had hit him on his left shoulder. The mercenaries started shooting rubber bullets at Kyle to further debilitate him, Aaagh, Jessi heard. She knew it was Kyle; there was no time to waste.

Jessi now could see Kyle on his knees. She saw a group of 4 mercenaries surrounding Kyle. She approached the group using the trees for cover, and then she jumped on one mercenary, knocking him out with a blow to the head. Kyle saw Jessi and panicked, he needed to protect Jessi. Kyle gathered all the strength that he had left and was able to get one of the mercenaries to the floor by hitting his knees with his arm, and then knock him out with a punch.

The 2 mercenaries left started shooting rubber bullets at Kyle. Jessi jumped in front of Kyle to stop the bullets with her own body. The last thing Kyle did before collapsing unconscious was to yell, No Jessi! Run away, don't worry about me.

Several rubber bullets hit Jessi, making her scream in pain. However she got up and started charging at one of the mercenaries, with the little strength she had left. She felt a sharp pain on her shoulder blade, a tranquilizer dart piercing her flesh. She still managed to knock out one of the mercenaries by placing her hands around his neck, and choking him until he was unconscious, and then she threw herself on top of an unconscious Kyle to protect him for the rubber bullets the other mercenary was still shooting. She then drifted to unconsciousness.

Back home Lori had filled Nicole in on what had happened, and they were waiting for Kyle and Jessi to come back home. Nicole was fixing dinner, and starting to get a bit nervous. What was taking Kyle and Jessi so long?

Back in the woods out of the trees 2 men appeared behind the mercenary that was still standing, one of the men shot a tranquilizer dart. It was Tom Foss, followed by Declan. When Kyle had called they happened to be together in a nearby spot, training. It was fortunate or they would have never got there in time. The last mercenary fell to his knees and collapsed.

Foss moved towards Kyle and Jessi, he checked for a pulse and told Declan, they are alive. We need to get them out of here fast, in case they send reinforcements.

Declan was carrying Jessi and Foss was carrying Kyle. They got to the cars, and Foss said, Declan let's get Kyle and Jessi in your car. Declan flatten the back seat of his SUV, and they were able to fit Kyle and Jessi in the back, lying next to each other. Foss got a blanket out of his truck and threw it on them to try to prevent hypothermia.

Then Foss said, Declan start driving these kids home, I will call Nicole to let her know that you will be getting there soon. Declan it's important to keep Kyle and Jessi together, as they are stronger the closer they are together. Foss thought that if they were anything like Adam and Sarah, that would be the case. Under no circumstances are you to take them to the hospital. It would be very hard to protect them in that type of environment. I am going back to get the man I shot with the tranquilizer gun, after I drop him at the warehouse, I will see you at the Trager's.

Declan was pulling in to the drive way of the Trager house. He saw Nicole, Lori and Josh waiting by the door. He parked and got out of the car. Declan opened the back of the SUV to get Jessi and Kyle out. Nicole approached and said, Declan, what happened? Shouldn't they be at a hospital? Declan responded,Foss said they only need rest, and not to take them to the hospital, as it would be almost impossible to protect them there. Nicole responded,I have some blankets on the floor of the family room we can put them there; Foss said it was important to keep them together.

Declan carried Jessi first and put her on the blankets. Then between Declan and Josh, they managed to get Kyle to the blankets. Nicole noticed that their clothes were wet and both of them were covered in mud. With Lori's help she managed to take Jessi's wet clothes off, and they dressed her in fresh pajamas. Then with Josh and Declan's help they did the same for Kyle.

Nicole was horrified, when she saw the multiple bruises and welts on her children's bodies. Each one of them also had a piercing on their skin with some blood on it, from the tranquilizer dart. One of Kyle's eyes was swelling up and had an ugly bruise on it. Jessi's right cheek was swollen and bruised; she also had a small cut on the bottom of her right foot. Both of them were clammy.

Lori went and got more blankets to cover Jessi and Kyle. Nicole got some wash cloths and warm water, and started cleaning the mud off their faces. After that she cleaned the cuts and Jessi's foot, and then she applied antibiotic ointment on the wounds. Josh got some ice and put it in 2 zip bags, and applied it to Kyle's swollen eye and Jessi's cheek.

At that time Stephen walked in and said, hi, where is every one? Nicole approached him, gave him a hug and started crying on his shoulder, saying Stephen, Kyle and Jessi were attacked, they are in bad shapes. Stephen started caressing Nicole's hair. He then asked, where are they? Nicole composed herself and took him to the family room.

Stephen took a look at them and said, we should take them to the hospital. At that point they heard the doorbell, it was Tom Foss. He asked, how are Kyle and Jessi doing? Without waiting for an answer, he went in to the family room and checked on them himself.

Stephen said, Mr. Foss, we should take them to a hospital. Foss replied, we can't the people that are after them are very powerful, it would be impossible to protect them at a hospital.

Nicole said,Mr. Foss can you explain to us, what is going on?. Foss took a deep breath and sat at one of the couches, he started explaining,I am not exactly sure how all of this started. I got a call from Kyle asking for help, Declan and I were nearby so we rushed over; we got there just in time. Jessi and Kyle had put up a good fight, they disabled 7 of their opponents, but they collapsed before getting the last one. I was able to shoot him with a tranquilizer dart. Then we got Kyle and Jessi to Declan's SUV, and I went back to try to retrieve the man that I had shot for later interrogation. However by the time I got there, there was another group killing the mercenaries and putting them in body bags, and then they loaded them in to a van and took off. I believe there are at least 2 groups competing to get Kyle and Jessi, we got lucky this time, as one group took the other out. I will have to investigate further to see if I can determine who is behind the groups.

What do we do now?asked Stephen. I am going to spend the next 24 hrs. in your house protecting your family. After that I will go back to the warehouse and use the surveillance system and see what I can find out.No one in the house should leave until we are sure, there is not going to be a direct attack. I hope by then Kyle and Jessi will be well enough to be your first line of defence.

He turned to Declan and said, Declan do you think you can stay for the next 24 hrs in case I need you. Sure thing Mr. Foss Declan answered.Do you need to call your family to let them know?Asked Foss. No, my father would not notice if I was gone for months, and I have not heard from my mother in years. Declan said sadly. Foss nodded in understanding.

Nicole asked,what exactly happened to Kyle and Jessi? Why are they unconscious and full of bruises?

Foss thought that Nicole deserved an answer, but it would be hard to explain to a mother, so he just went to the point, They were shot with tranquilizer darts and rubber bullets. They also sustained some injuries from hand to hand combat. All they need now is rest and time to metabolize the drugs. When they wake up they will need juice or Gatorade, and high energy food. Now does anyone know what they were doing out there?

Lori answered,They had a romantic misunderstanding, they both ran away from each other. When Kyle realized that it was all a misunderstanding he went after Jessi.

Stupid Kids, they almost got themselves kidnapped. Foss said, however internally he was happy they loved each other, he just hoped they would not end up like Sarah and Adam.

Nicole said,I have diner ready, we are having spaghetti, salad and garlic bread. Everyone went to get some dinner, except for Foss who said he would keep an eye on Jessi and Kyle. Nicole brought him over a plate that he accepted.

Over at Madacorp a very angry Emily was yelling, you idiots, did I not tell you to bring at least one alive for interrogation? Now we don't know who mounted this attack. Just get out of my face before I fire you all bunch of inept's Emily thought Mr. Ballantine is not going to be happy. I am going to have to send a spy to keep an eye on the assets, until it is time to capture them. I can't take any more chances.

Nicole was sleeping on the couch to keep an eye on Kyle and Jessi. Declan was monitoring the entrances to the house, including windows from a computer Foss had brought. Foss was outside guarding the perimeter, and looking for anything suspicious.

Kyle slowly regained consciousness, the first thing he felt was pain coming from every inch of his body. His first word was Jessi! Jessi! Where are you? Nicole woke up and kneeled by Kyle, she told him, Jessi is right here with you son. Kyle turned his head with difficulty and saw Jessi lying by his side, with difficulty and ignoring the pain he put an arm around her and kissed her cheek, tears running down his face. Then he said,I am so sorry Jessi this is entirely my fault, I should have never left you alone or yelled at you. Despite all you were still there for me fighting by my side, protecting me with your own body, when I did not deserve it. Please forgive me Jessi.

Kyle knew Jessi was still unconscious, but he just had to say it. Then he turned to Nicole and said, Mom, I am sorry. I acted like an idiot, and put everyone that I love in danger. Nicole hugged Kyle, wishing she could shield him from a world that was so cruel to him. Then she said, everything is going to be fine Kyle, you just need to rest. I am going to get you some orange juice, you must be thirsty.

Nicole brought over some orange juice with a straw, and helped Kyle to drink some; he still had problems controlling his muscles. Kyle laid there looking at Jessi, he felt so guilty when he saw Jessi had a bruised and swollen cheek. He knew Jessi got it defending him, trying to shield him.

A couple of hours later, Jessi emitted an painful Aaagh!, she was starting to wake up, every inch of her body hurting. Kyle looked at her with concern. Then Jessi said, Kyle! Where are you? Kyle! I am here love, Kyle responded. Jessi turn to look at him relieved by seeing him. Then she remembered she had to apologize. She started Kyle please forgive… She could not continue as Kyle had his mouth over hers, hoping Nicole was asleep. After breaking the kiss Kyle said, Jessi please don't apologize. It is entirely my fault. I should have never got upset with you. I am an idiot. I am the one that needs to beg you for….Jessi put a finger on his lips and said, Kyle no need to apologize, I am just happy you are safe. I was so scared when I heard you screaming. I don't ever want to be without you again. She said remembering her time at Zzyzx. They hugged each other tightly, until it was hard to tell one from the other, they ignored the pain and comforted each other.


Again I would like to thank JasonZ0645, for helping me to edit my story. He also helped me to learn about the military, to make the story better.

Mcaj hope you like this chapter

I appreciates the reviews. Please review.