Chapter Fifty-Three
John struggled against Andy's hold on him, fighting to get up so he could go after the Silvermans. "Let me go!" He growled, trying to catch Andy's legs with his ankles. "Get your fucking hands off me."
Andy adjusted his grip, hoping that he would still be on Bender's good side after this. "You promise not to jump into this head first?"
John kicked again, connecting with Brian's ankle. "Ow!" Brian yelped, waiting for Claire to come out of the phone booth after calling the cops and Brian's parents. "Watch it."
"Listen guys," John stopped struggling for a moment, his breath coming in shot gasps, "I know those people… and I also know… that they're not afraid to beat and kill kids."
He felt Allison push his hair out of his face, letting him see the rest of the world. "What do you mean?"
John struggled against the wrestler on his back, hearing the athlete grunt as he worked to restrain the much stronger teen. "They murdered my best friend." He felt Andy let go of him then, but he couldn't do much because Claire had returned from the phone booth.
"Okay, the police said they can't do much with the information that John gave me." She looked to Brian. "And your parents asked you to come home right away."
Andy nodded, looking between Brian and the others. "I'll take him."
John had suddenly become very quiet, which scared all of them. Claire slowly approached him, running a hand along his bare arm, her worry becoming worse when he didn't move of flinch. "John?" She touched his chin turning his head to look at her. "John, can you hear me?" She pushed his hair back from his eyes, revealing the wet tears around them.
"I fucked up." He croaked, trying to push everything down. "I should have kept a better eye on them."
Brian poked his head over Claire's shoulder. "I should have helped." He flinched as John faked toward him, starting back after Andy toward the parking lot.
"Come on, let's go home." Claire and Allison walked on either side of John, hoping that he wouldn't go on another wild goose chase through the city.
"I know where they are." He swallowed the lump in his throat, looking for a way to get away from the girls. "I know where they took her, and I know what they'll do to her." He picked up his pace slightly. "They did it to me, they did it to Sid, and they'll do it to her."
"John slow down." Claire struggled to keep pace with the long-legged boy before her. "John."
That's when he took his chance. He bolted, running full speed across the parking lot, jumping over any obstacle in his way.
He ran until his lungs burned for a rest, but he pushed on. The pains in his legs did nothing to stop him, nothing would stand between him and that little girl. He sprinted over miles of pavement, finally coming to the old rusted tracks that were the barrier between Heaven and Hell. He didn't slow down, not caring if it was getting dark, he would find that child.
Claire cried into her mother's arms, terrified that she would never see John again. "We couldn't find him anywhere." She hiccupped, letting Clarissa hold her closer.
Clarissa pressed her lips to her daughter's head, fighting her own fear for the boy her daughter loved. "He'll be okay." She rocked back and forth, trying to soothe her child. "He'll be okay."
The phone beside the couch rang, the two women going dead silent. Clarissa picked the receiver up, holding it to her ear. "Hello?" She asked, praying that the other person held good news.
"Bring six-thousand cash dollars to the Bender home by midnight, or the kid gets it." There was a click and the line went dead.
Clarissa dropped the phone, her hands shaking. She'd heard something in the background, it had almost sounded like John…
"Who was it?" Claire sniffed, afraid of the answer.
Clarissa pulled out her checkbook, writing a series of check for the maximum amount she could cash at one time. "Go to every bank you can and cash as many of these as you can." She handed a stack to her daughter, pushing her keys into her hand. "Meet me back here in a half hour." She pulled her coat on, grabbing her purse as she ran for the garage. "Hurry!"
