Hello again, another quick update!
As always thank you all for your kind words and awesome reviews!
Thanks to kelly2727 for her Awesomeness too!
Chapter 11- Run.
Sam was too late to catch her.
He reached out but just missed as she slumped to the side and slid down the wall until she was sprawled out on the floor.
Her eyes were closed and she let out a strangled groan indicating that she was semi-concious.
He knelt down in front of her and called her name but there was no response so he gently picked up her hand and inspected the damage done to it.
A string of deep gashes lined the palm of her hand and there were several nick and puncture wounds on the other wrist.
Shifting around Sam reached out and pulled her away from the wall. He tucked an arm in behind her back and the other under her knees.
Picking her up was easy because she was feather light, he'd need to have a word with her about eating more because although she appeared healthy, she was too light.
Sam carried her into the spare room and set her down on the bed. Next he searched for his first aid kit and cleaned up her hands and arms. Her shirt would be left for her to change when she woke up.
Feeling his phone buzz in his pocket Sam stepped out of the guest room and watched as a private number danced across the screen. He was tempted not to answer, but it could be the hospital calling about Steve Peck or it could be Mavis, so he answered.
Silence greeted his ear and Sam was about to hang up but he could hear children laughing in the background.
"Jared?" Silence followed his question.
"Blow into the phone for me buddy".
A heartbeat later a static noise filled his ear and Sam felt himself smile.
"You okay there buddy?"
Another sound filtered through his ear piece.
"I have Andy, she's okay, but she's sleeping now". Sam said without holding anything back, other than the complete truth.
A long silence filled the line between them, but Sam knew that Jared was still on the other end.
"Can she call me tomorrow?"
Sam nearly dropped his phone.
Jared had figured that there was no other way to communicate with him other than to ask, so he did.
"For you, anytime. Is Mavis there?".
"Ninja's in the ladies room" Jared said and Sam couldn't help but smile at the nickname that Jared had given her.
"Okay, we'll talk some more. Are you having fun?"
Silence again. The poor kid wasn't ready to say too much just yet, but he was talking so that was great.
"We are, but Andy misses you" Sam said deflating his own happy bubble.
"I won't tell her that you said anything okay, you can surprise her..." Shuffling around could be heard and then there was Mavis' voice "Mr Swarek?".
"Mavis are you guys okay?"
"Yes, we're good. Jared misses Andy though".
"I know" Sam really didn't have more to say to that.
"Is she okay?" Mavis asked straight out. Sam could hear the worry in her voice even though she had only met Andy a few hours ago.
"She's okay, I think she's more tired than anything else. Can you guys stay there a few days? I don't want Jared at risk".
"We can stay" Mavis stated and Sam knew that she had sorted out her life as well.
"Okay, I'll let Andy call Jared tomorrow, but only one call" Sam said before ending the call. It probably wasn't all that safe to be talking on the phone but given the circumstances it was unfair to cut Andy off from Jared altogether.
Sam returned to the spare room to find Andy still out, but her breathing was even and she had a steady, strong pulse so she probably just needed to sleep.
Sam tugged the covers over her and left the door slightly open. He turned the hallway light on and then returned downstairs to see about scrounging something edible up.
He'd been home a while and had already cleaned up and changed the front doors lock and added a deadbolt. He had driven around for an hour looking for Andy after the medics arrived and stabilized Peck before carting him away but he'd found no sign of her anywhere.
Nicoli had also disappeared.
He came home with the hopes that Andy would return here because she really had nowhere else to go and she would seek Jared out. What he hadn't been expecting was for her to be in such bad shape.
Sam remembered that he had left his groceries outside the front door when he came home so he didn't even bother checking because they would either be gone by now or they would have spoiled.
Opening the fridge Sam found everything packed away and a note on the door that read 'Thanks Buddy'.
Jerry.
He had forgotten that he'd told Jerry about the samples in the fridge so he had obviously been by shortly after Sam left and had put his groceries away.
What are friends for right?
Setting to work Sam washed his hands and then went about preparing the chicken before putting it in the oven. A salad followed soon and went into the fridge while he peeled some potato's and put them on to boil for mash.
It was far from what he had originally planned for dinner, but hey the day had shot to hell anyway.
When he was done Sam turned the TV on and turned the volume to mute so that the noise wouldn't disturb Andy.
When dinner was done Sam checked on Andy but she was still out like a light so he left her alone before returning downstairs to grab a bite to eat.
He finished eating marginal food before grabbing a shower and sending Jerry a test to ask how Peck was recovering after his surgery to close the gaping wound in his neck and remove the glass.
Good news followed when Jerry replied saying that Peck had lived through the surgery, but wasn't out of the woods yet. It wasn't completely good news really, but it was good enough for now.
Sometime later Sam's head lulled over the back cushion of the couch, consciousness seeping away into a pit of thoughtlessness.
...
Feeling the panic well from deep inside her stomach, Andy tried to calm herself before she even opened her eyes.
She had no idea where she was, or who had been here with her, she just knew that she wasn't alone. But funny enough, for some odd reason she didn't feel threatened.
Drawing in an edgy breath Andy cracked one eye open and did a full scan of the room, familiar things staring down at her in a dim light.
A distant sound made Andy cringe as though she automatically knew that it was off, that it was wrong to hear it.
Opening her eyes widely she threw back the blankets that had been tucked over her, the flash of clean skin easing her memories of a blood stained hand out of her mind.
Padding across the floor towards the feint light that filtered into the room through the half open door Andy shook away the remaining last images of a day that she wanted to forget for as long as she lived.
Just as her hand reached for the door handle, the door flew open and a strong pair of hands took hold of her. Just as her shock seemed to hit a nerve, a quiet "Ssshhh" sounded and her eyes focused to see Sam standing in front of her.
He had managed to firmly clasp one hand over her mouth as he came into the room, an obvious attempt to keep her quiet as a few more hushed noises came from downstairs.
Andy nodded and Sam immediately released his hold on her. He turned around and quietly shut the spare room door. "They're in the house" Sam whispered standing really close to her. His deep thought didn't escape her; even though the room was dark she could see his jaw tense.
Andy moved a step back and the motion seemed to spell a new burst of energy throughout Sam as he took a step towards her and latched onto her healthy hand before dragging her across the room and over to the window.
Letting go of her hand Sam proceeded to open the window after gently drawing the curtains back. A sliver of silver moonlight cast its way across them both, Andy taking a second to drink Sam's features in.
He'd probably be really good looking if he smiled.
"Go". Sam put a hand on the small of her back and edged her towards the window when she looked down and realized that she was barefoot.
"Leave them" Sam whispered leaning in close a second after a much closer creek sounded somewhere just outside the door.
"We're upstairs" Andy bit back as quietly as she could.
"Climb out onto the ledge" Sam said and pushed her towards the window. Man the guy was just so...demanding.
Throwing caution to the wind Andy stepped closer to the window and stuck her head through it. It really was a stupid idea to look down, but of course it was human nature to look down when you were up.
Andy huffed out a breath before taking a final look down and then she lifted a leg and threw it over the ledge of the window and out into the night air.
A sound made Sam's head snap up and towards the door. The look on his face made Andy scramble out onto the ledge just below the window in a hurry, Sam following with great haste.
It was kind of weird that he paused long enough to close the window, but it made sense. He wanted to make it seem like they were still hiding in the house for as long as possible.
Scurrying around the ledge Andy followed it until she ran out of ledge when she came to a window. Heat behind her told her that Sam was right there.
His arm came out of nowhere, the limb extending around her to grab hold of a pipe that ran down from the roof to the ground.
And then he just jumped.
Andy had to do a double take, one second he was behind her and the next he was on the ground looking up at her and waiving a hand.
"Mm-mm" Andy mumbled and shook her head. There was no way that she was jumping down.
Sam cocked his head to the side, a stern look running across his already hard face. If she didn't jump, then he'd probably leave her up there.
Andy pinched her eyes closed and took a shallow breath, her lungs just refused to fill with air.
Taking a look around she came to the simple conclusion that if she didn't go down then there simply wasn't anywhere else to go.
Shuffling around Andy maneuvered herself so that her back was against the wall and then she just stepped off the ledge.
It didn't take long for the ground to come rushing up to meet her but it felt as though the minute her feet left the ledge, Sam caught her.
They tumbled when they slammed into each other with force, Sam taking a step back but still holding onto her as he tried to soften the blow she took when she slammed into him.
Sam gained his footing almost instantly and soon Andy found herself being led by the hand around the back of his house across night damp grass that tickled her bare feet.
They reached the small pedestrian gate in the wall and slipped through into the street.
After walking a few blocks Andy tugged her hand free of Sam's and tried to get her breathing to even out before panting out a question. "Where are we going?".
"Somewhere safe, but we need to go get Jared first" Sam said shoving his hands into his pockets. Strange how letting her hand go made his idle.
"Somewhere safe? Sam, there isn't anywhere safe from these guys". She wasn't trying to moan, but it just came out sounding that way.
Sam glanced around the street before looking back at her and uttering "Really? I bet you they won't find us this time". He left her standing there staring after him as he walked a few more steps away from her.
...
Sam broke the glass with a soft thud.
It wasn't ideal to actually break in but seeing as his keys, phone and wallet were still in his house along with the Russian hit squad, he had to use a universal key (namely his elbow) to gain access to the house.
Technically it wasn't breaking and entering because you couldn't break into a house you owned.
Andy looked tired even though she had spent a good few hours sleeping before they left his house. She kept looking down at her feet and he felt bad for her because she had to walk twenty-three blocks with no shoes on in the middle of the night. She was still wearing her bloodstained shirt too and would probably be relieved to have a shower.
Opening the door Sam held it open and Andy walked in, her face showing her confusion at finding a bare house.
"My sisters" Sam said answering her unspoken questions with two simple words that seemed to pacify her immensely.
"Oh" came back from her at her understanding that they weren't breaking into some strangers empty house.
Sam closed the door before turning to Andy as the moonlight slivered through the window behind her and cast rays of silver across her and the wooden floor.
Andy was inspecting the room her eyes flowing across the wooden floor and the whitewashed walls before settling back on him.
"There's boxes in the basement take whatever you think will fit" Sam left her standing there in the dark while going to turn the circuit breaker on so that they could have some light.
"Aren't we staying here?". Andy's voice suddenly sounded from behind him.
After turning the breakers on Sam faced her and saw her uncertainty.
"No, it's registered to my sister so it leads back to me. I just came for shoes and the car" Sam side stepped Andy and was about to head for the garage when her hand on his arm stopped him.
"What about Jared?".
"We'll go for him before leaving".
"So he's here? In Toronto?".
"No, he's two hours away from here" Sam opened a drawer to his left and reached into it to get the car keys and remote for the garage door.
"He's fine". He added while walking passed Andy to the garage. "Now get clothes or stay barefoot" Sam headed for the garage without looking back. "Showers upstairs, don't turn the lights on" he threw the words over his shoulder just before disappearing from sight.
Heading down the stairs and into the basement Andy found boxes stacked up everywhere. They were labeled, bedroom, kitchen, clothes.
Digging through a dead woman's personal belonging was kind of creepy but she really didn't have a choice. Her feet were aching and cold and filthy so she'd have to find shoes somewhere.
Spending ten minutes or so digging around in the boxes marked clothes Andy grabbed a few sensible items- jeans, shirts, shoes and a jersey. Lucky for her the woman who's clothes they had been was close enough in size to be of great help.
Shoving the clothes into an empty box that she found in the basement Andy lugged it upstairs before searching through the dark empty rooms for room that would lead her to a shower.
She found one that had a candle burning on the side of the bathtub. It wasn't ideal, but there was enough light to see with.
On the counter next to the basin she found soap, shampoo, toothpaste and a brand new toothbrush. Who was this guy? Martha Stewart?
How did he even have brand new bottles of toiletries in an empty house?
After a really welcome shower although it was cold Andy shimmied into some clothes from the boxes and stared at her candle lit reflection. She was clean but she still looked a mess.
Dropping the toiletries into the box Andy picked it up and then went in search of a light or a sign that would scream garage.
Approaching the open door Andy stared at the car as it idled and she heard the noise it made. It sounded really mean.
Setting foot into the garage she tried not to give Sam a quizzical look when she saw the label Subaru on the back of the car.
Most people that bought one ended up wrapping it around a lamppost or screwing up the suspension when they hit a pavement for the simple reason that they didn't know how to handle a powerful car properly.
Sam's sister obviously had because the car was immaculate.
"She hardly drove it, bought it to piss me off" Sam said and then cleared his throat. How he managed to read her mind like that was just unbelievable.
Andy just nodded and then looked at the trunk which Sam popped open for her to leave the box in. She wasn't surprised to find two black duffle bags and a bag of toiletries already in it.
"Ready?" Sam asked when she closed the trunk.
She took a moment to think over her answer- was she ready?
"Yup" she said feeling how empty it sounded.
Getting into the passenger seat Andy said a silent prayer as Sam got in.
Hopefully he knew how to drive this car...
***** Thanks for reading! No insults meant to Subaru drivers but here- you hardly see any because they've all been totaled.
Some hints at what's to come:
Southern accents
A long road trip
A change of cars
And some funny Sam moments!
Have an awesome day!
JBJ.
