Chapter 06
Karen seemed to smile radiantly as she slowly walked down the church isle towards Jack. If only her father had been here, that would make things perfect, well almost. She thought of her mother, but shoved those thought out of her mind. Now was not the time to dwell on them. After all, things weren't all bad. Ann's father was willing to escort her to the front of the church.
Karen looked at Jack. He was dressed up in his tuxedo, and for the first one of the first times, she noted, he was not wearing his blue baseball cap. His brown hair was combed back, and his face was washed. She took a deep breath as she stepped up onto the platform next to Jack. The pastor stood up from the front pew and walked towards them.
"I would like to thank you all for coming out today, to witness this union." the pastor droned. Karen hardly heard what the pastor was saying. Here eyes were fixed on Jacks. The wedding seemed so perfect.
"Karen, do you take Jack here, to be your lawfully wedded husband. For richer and for poorer. In sickness and in health, until death do you part?"
Karen took a moment to answer. "I do."
"Jack, do you take Karen to be your lawfully wedded wife, For richer and for poorer. In sickness and in health, until death do you part?"
"I do," Jack replied.
"Then with the power entrusted in me by the Lord God, I pronounce you, husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
Karen and Jack kissed a passionate kiss, her soft lips against his. Time and space seemed to dissolve around them. Just as Jack was absolutely certain this moment was never going to end, he was awoken.
"Give me one good reason that I should not kill you right now," came the cold spoken words. Jack could feel a thin, cold metal blade against his throat. He realized the voice belonged to Kai. Was the wedding just a dream? He remembered, the wedding had not yet occurred, it was not to happen until morning. His pulse quickened, and muscles tensed. Jack could feel beads of sweat on his forehead.
"Kai, give me two good reasons not to kill you," ordered Karen. She too had a knife, and it was a Kai's throat. He smiled sickly.
Kai raised the knife slowly from Jacks throat. He knew Karen too well. She wouldn't kill him. "My first reason, is this." He plunged his knife into Karen's hip. She leaped backward instinctively, and hit the floor. Jack used this couple extra seconds to sack Kai with all his might. Kai tried his best to ignore the incredible pain. However, this time his will failed him as he sank to the floor.
Jack jumped out of bed. "Not so strong now, are we Kai?" Jack tried his best to hide his fear, but in reality, he was terrified. Please God, protect both Karen and Me from this monster, he prayed in his mind. Jack ran over to where Karen was trying to pull the serrated knife.
"You have made a grave mistake," Kai hissed. Before anybody could react, Kai slipped a knife from his pocket and whipped it at Karen, and rolled out the door. She closed her eyes, certain that it would hit her. Jack's prayers were answered, the knife barley missed her and sliced into the inflatable couch, depressurizing it.
"We've got to stop him!" Karen whimpered.
"It's too dark out." Jack replied. Karen knew it was true. There was no moon out tonight. For all they knew, Kai could be waiting to pounce, or something. Even then, it was a good mile or two by horse to the nearest farm.
There was a dark pool of blood where Karen sat. He got out his first aid kit. There was only a couple of cotton swabs and q-tips. Then, Jack had an idea.
"Jack, what are you doing?" Karen asked as Jack tore up his bed sheets.
"Bandages," he replied, and walked towards her. Slowly, he bandaged up the gash. "When there is light, then we will get help." Karen looked into his eyes, and saw pure hatred, hatred towards Kai.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"I'm good," Kai told himself as he smiled evilly. He had been wandering this mine all night in the dark, hoping to find an old hiding spot. Many years ago, before Kai moved in with Karen's family, his parents would take him to visit his aunt and uncle Miller. Kai would sneak to the mines and go exploring. His parents forbade him to do so, and punished him when he disobeyed, but he endured it, and would continue to sneak off to the mines. It didn't matter how many times his mother would lecture him about the dangers of the mine, or how many times his father would whip him, he would come.
Just up ahead was the ventilation shaft he was looking for. Kai began to climb up into it. This ventilation shaft was somewhat larger than the others, due to the fact that it was made of rock, soft enough for Kai to scrape away. All those years ago, he would hide here when his mom and dad would come looking for him. Kai closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
He was awoken abruptly by voices. Jacks and some other voice he couldn't identify. He tried to stay still, so as not to attract any attention.
"The footprints stop here. Looks almost as if he were jumping." the strange female voice said. Kai was absolutely certain that he was going to be caught. He began to think frantically, as well as look around frantically. It was then that Kai noticed a huge spider had been crawling on him.
"AHHHHHH!!!!!" Kai yelled as he began jerking around trying to get the spider off of him. In this process, he slipped and fell out of the shaft, right in-between Jack and the mystery person. He got up and began violently brushing himself off violently.
If the conditions would have been different, Jack would have allowed himself to chuckle. But considering that Kai was a cold blooded murderer, Jack only smiled at the thought that the deadly Kai was terrified of spiders. Jack thought about how if Kai weren't his enemy, they would be able to all go to the bar and have a good laugh over it at the bar. Unfortunately, they were enemies.
The police officer dove at Kai in an attempt to handcuff him. Kai was still squirming enough that she was unable to. Kai wiggled free, got back up to his feet, and dashed down the dark tunnels. Jack immediately began pursuit of the man, and the blond cop was not far behind. She grabbed the hand held radio from and pocket and began to signal for backup.
As they went through the long tunnels, they reached a far more deteriorated section of the mine. The wooden supports were very rotten. Segments of the tunnels were even collapsed. The floor was covered in water. Jack remembered a trip to an old mine when he was young.
The mine he visited had been restored, and was a tourist attraction. It had been used 50 years previously for mining coal. There was a section of mine they came up to that hadn't been restored. The floor was covered in water, and the tour guide had told him that this water actually provided stability for the mine.
Kai came up to a fence, well, more like a wall. This wall separated this section of the mine from the oldest section of it. The oldest section was the most dangerous of them all. There have been reports from the citizens of the village of hearing large explosions in the middle of the night coming from here. The best explanation anyone has come up with is that some falling pebbles or something caused a spark, thus igniting the coal dust. That's what the explosions were. Jack had never heard such an explosion in the time he had been here. He had only heard talk from some of the men at the bar about one happening a couple of years ago.
Jack grinned. "We've got you cornered Kai," he said as he and the officer approached Kai. Kai, the maniac, did not look too worried.
"You underestimate me Jack," Kai replied. This worried Jack. Little did Jack know that Kai had very little idea how to escape this time. An idea began to formulate for Kai. He swiftly scanned the wall separating him from freedom, or temporary freedom, and found what he was looking for. As Jack and the police officer approached him, Kai rammed his foot into a rotted section of the wall. Kai had only expected a small chunk to tear off, but rather, a whole one square meter section came off. This was better then Kai could have planned. He dove into the hole, and ran off into the darkness of the oldest section.
The wooden framework was extremely rotten in the oldest section. It's a wonder that the shaft lasted as long as it has. It also did not have any ventilation shafts, because back then it was ventilated by a huge fan at the entrance. And the entrances was in fact, at the opposite end of this old tunnel. It was dark, dreadfully horrifically dark. Kai coughed on the coal dust as he ran as far as he could into the tunnel. Kai slowly began to realise that this section was full of coal dust, and would be very easy to detonate. Jack, who was in hot pursuit, also knew this. Despite the risk, he had a score to settle with Kai. Nobody tries to kill him, or his friends, and gets away with it. He followed Kai in.
"Jack!" officer Hanna called after him. "It's too dangerous in there."
Jack turned around and looked back at her. "I am aware of the risks," he said calmly. Hanna looked into his eyes and saw the fury burning towards Kai. She knew there was no stopping him. "He attacked my fiancé, and I don't take well to people who do that."
Hanna nodded. "Jack, I want to be clear on one thing. By no means attempt to kill Kai. Understand? If you do kill him, you will be just as guilty as him according to law."
Jack nodded. "I know the laws," Jack stated. "Don't worry, I assure you that I will not kill him."
Hanna nodded as Jack disappeared back into the tunnel.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"Officer. Thank goodness I've found you. Have you seen Jack?" Karen asked.
Hanna shook her head. "Not since he disappeared into there an hour ago."
Karen groaned. "No."
Since Jack had gone into the tunnel, the place had been bustling with police. Hanna had radioed the police station to send some men with fire retardant suits. They needed the suits to protect any men they would send in to pursue Kai. Kai was a dangerous man. Hanna knew Jack probably wouldn't be able to handle Kai if he caught him. But someone had to keep Kai occupied. She felt ashamed of herself for not have gone in herself. She was the one who had been trained in this kind of thing. But as much as she hated to admit it, she was a coward.
All the time Hanna had been thinking to herself, she hadn't noticed Karen sneaking into the oldest shaft.
"Don't worry Jack," Karen whispered to herself. "I'm on my way."
Karen seemed to smile radiantly as she slowly walked down the church isle towards Jack. If only her father had been here, that would make things perfect, well almost. She thought of her mother, but shoved those thought out of her mind. Now was not the time to dwell on them. After all, things weren't all bad. Ann's father was willing to escort her to the front of the church.
Karen looked at Jack. He was dressed up in his tuxedo, and for the first one of the first times, she noted, he was not wearing his blue baseball cap. His brown hair was combed back, and his face was washed. She took a deep breath as she stepped up onto the platform next to Jack. The pastor stood up from the front pew and walked towards them.
"I would like to thank you all for coming out today, to witness this union." the pastor droned. Karen hardly heard what the pastor was saying. Here eyes were fixed on Jacks. The wedding seemed so perfect.
"Karen, do you take Jack here, to be your lawfully wedded husband. For richer and for poorer. In sickness and in health, until death do you part?"
Karen took a moment to answer. "I do."
"Jack, do you take Karen to be your lawfully wedded wife, For richer and for poorer. In sickness and in health, until death do you part?"
"I do," Jack replied.
"Then with the power entrusted in me by the Lord God, I pronounce you, husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
Karen and Jack kissed a passionate kiss, her soft lips against his. Time and space seemed to dissolve around them. Just as Jack was absolutely certain this moment was never going to end, he was awoken.
"Give me one good reason that I should not kill you right now," came the cold spoken words. Jack could feel a thin, cold metal blade against his throat. He realized the voice belonged to Kai. Was the wedding just a dream? He remembered, the wedding had not yet occurred, it was not to happen until morning. His pulse quickened, and muscles tensed. Jack could feel beads of sweat on his forehead.
"Kai, give me two good reasons not to kill you," ordered Karen. She too had a knife, and it was a Kai's throat. He smiled sickly.
Kai raised the knife slowly from Jacks throat. He knew Karen too well. She wouldn't kill him. "My first reason, is this." He plunged his knife into Karen's hip. She leaped backward instinctively, and hit the floor. Jack used this couple extra seconds to sack Kai with all his might. Kai tried his best to ignore the incredible pain. However, this time his will failed him as he sank to the floor.
Jack jumped out of bed. "Not so strong now, are we Kai?" Jack tried his best to hide his fear, but in reality, he was terrified. Please God, protect both Karen and Me from this monster, he prayed in his mind. Jack ran over to where Karen was trying to pull the serrated knife.
"You have made a grave mistake," Kai hissed. Before anybody could react, Kai slipped a knife from his pocket and whipped it at Karen, and rolled out the door. She closed her eyes, certain that it would hit her. Jack's prayers were answered, the knife barley missed her and sliced into the inflatable couch, depressurizing it.
"We've got to stop him!" Karen whimpered.
"It's too dark out." Jack replied. Karen knew it was true. There was no moon out tonight. For all they knew, Kai could be waiting to pounce, or something. Even then, it was a good mile or two by horse to the nearest farm.
There was a dark pool of blood where Karen sat. He got out his first aid kit. There was only a couple of cotton swabs and q-tips. Then, Jack had an idea.
"Jack, what are you doing?" Karen asked as Jack tore up his bed sheets.
"Bandages," he replied, and walked towards her. Slowly, he bandaged up the gash. "When there is light, then we will get help." Karen looked into his eyes, and saw pure hatred, hatred towards Kai.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"I'm good," Kai told himself as he smiled evilly. He had been wandering this mine all night in the dark, hoping to find an old hiding spot. Many years ago, before Kai moved in with Karen's family, his parents would take him to visit his aunt and uncle Miller. Kai would sneak to the mines and go exploring. His parents forbade him to do so, and punished him when he disobeyed, but he endured it, and would continue to sneak off to the mines. It didn't matter how many times his mother would lecture him about the dangers of the mine, or how many times his father would whip him, he would come.
Just up ahead was the ventilation shaft he was looking for. Kai began to climb up into it. This ventilation shaft was somewhat larger than the others, due to the fact that it was made of rock, soft enough for Kai to scrape away. All those years ago, he would hide here when his mom and dad would come looking for him. Kai closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
He was awoken abruptly by voices. Jacks and some other voice he couldn't identify. He tried to stay still, so as not to attract any attention.
"The footprints stop here. Looks almost as if he were jumping." the strange female voice said. Kai was absolutely certain that he was going to be caught. He began to think frantically, as well as look around frantically. It was then that Kai noticed a huge spider had been crawling on him.
"AHHHHHH!!!!!" Kai yelled as he began jerking around trying to get the spider off of him. In this process, he slipped and fell out of the shaft, right in-between Jack and the mystery person. He got up and began violently brushing himself off violently.
If the conditions would have been different, Jack would have allowed himself to chuckle. But considering that Kai was a cold blooded murderer, Jack only smiled at the thought that the deadly Kai was terrified of spiders. Jack thought about how if Kai weren't his enemy, they would be able to all go to the bar and have a good laugh over it at the bar. Unfortunately, they were enemies.
The police officer dove at Kai in an attempt to handcuff him. Kai was still squirming enough that she was unable to. Kai wiggled free, got back up to his feet, and dashed down the dark tunnels. Jack immediately began pursuit of the man, and the blond cop was not far behind. She grabbed the hand held radio from and pocket and began to signal for backup.
As they went through the long tunnels, they reached a far more deteriorated section of the mine. The wooden supports were very rotten. Segments of the tunnels were even collapsed. The floor was covered in water. Jack remembered a trip to an old mine when he was young.
The mine he visited had been restored, and was a tourist attraction. It had been used 50 years previously for mining coal. There was a section of mine they came up to that hadn't been restored. The floor was covered in water, and the tour guide had told him that this water actually provided stability for the mine.
Kai came up to a fence, well, more like a wall. This wall separated this section of the mine from the oldest section of it. The oldest section was the most dangerous of them all. There have been reports from the citizens of the village of hearing large explosions in the middle of the night coming from here. The best explanation anyone has come up with is that some falling pebbles or something caused a spark, thus igniting the coal dust. That's what the explosions were. Jack had never heard such an explosion in the time he had been here. He had only heard talk from some of the men at the bar about one happening a couple of years ago.
Jack grinned. "We've got you cornered Kai," he said as he and the officer approached Kai. Kai, the maniac, did not look too worried.
"You underestimate me Jack," Kai replied. This worried Jack. Little did Jack know that Kai had very little idea how to escape this time. An idea began to formulate for Kai. He swiftly scanned the wall separating him from freedom, or temporary freedom, and found what he was looking for. As Jack and the police officer approached him, Kai rammed his foot into a rotted section of the wall. Kai had only expected a small chunk to tear off, but rather, a whole one square meter section came off. This was better then Kai could have planned. He dove into the hole, and ran off into the darkness of the oldest section.
The wooden framework was extremely rotten in the oldest section. It's a wonder that the shaft lasted as long as it has. It also did not have any ventilation shafts, because back then it was ventilated by a huge fan at the entrance. And the entrances was in fact, at the opposite end of this old tunnel. It was dark, dreadfully horrifically dark. Kai coughed on the coal dust as he ran as far as he could into the tunnel. Kai slowly began to realise that this section was full of coal dust, and would be very easy to detonate. Jack, who was in hot pursuit, also knew this. Despite the risk, he had a score to settle with Kai. Nobody tries to kill him, or his friends, and gets away with it. He followed Kai in.
"Jack!" officer Hanna called after him. "It's too dangerous in there."
Jack turned around and looked back at her. "I am aware of the risks," he said calmly. Hanna looked into his eyes and saw the fury burning towards Kai. She knew there was no stopping him. "He attacked my fiancé, and I don't take well to people who do that."
Hanna nodded. "Jack, I want to be clear on one thing. By no means attempt to kill Kai. Understand? If you do kill him, you will be just as guilty as him according to law."
Jack nodded. "I know the laws," Jack stated. "Don't worry, I assure you that I will not kill him."
Hanna nodded as Jack disappeared back into the tunnel.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"Officer. Thank goodness I've found you. Have you seen Jack?" Karen asked.
Hanna shook her head. "Not since he disappeared into there an hour ago."
Karen groaned. "No."
Since Jack had gone into the tunnel, the place had been bustling with police. Hanna had radioed the police station to send some men with fire retardant suits. They needed the suits to protect any men they would send in to pursue Kai. Kai was a dangerous man. Hanna knew Jack probably wouldn't be able to handle Kai if he caught him. But someone had to keep Kai occupied. She felt ashamed of herself for not have gone in herself. She was the one who had been trained in this kind of thing. But as much as she hated to admit it, she was a coward.
All the time Hanna had been thinking to herself, she hadn't noticed Karen sneaking into the oldest shaft.
"Don't worry Jack," Karen whispered to herself. "I'm on my way."