Chapter 07
Jacks throat felt extremely dry from all of the coal dust that was in the air. He was terrified, knowing that at any time, Kai could blow this joint, killing both of them. After a moments pause, Jack dismissed this notion. From what he knew of Kai, he was sure he wouldn't kill himself Even then, Jack wasn't able to convince himself of Kai wouldn't kill him. He remembered back to the night Karen had stopped Kai from committing suicide. He almost wished Kai had succeeded in his attempt to take his own life. Then he wouldn't be in this dangerous position.
It was so dark he could not see at all. He ran forward, and tripped, and landed on the rocky soil. Jack then realised he found Kai. "Kai," Jack stated.
"You rang?" came the reply in the voice Jack found so infuriating. Jack stood up just in time to be hit with one of Kai's super charged fists right in the jaw. Jack staggered back. The rage inside of Jack burned. He hated Kai, and what he had done. In every muscle, tendon, and artery, he could feel the fury pulsating, literally. He hated Kai for killing Mrs. Miller, for trying to kill Mr. Miller, and most of all, for hurting Karen. Jack had almost never been the type to be prone to violence. But for Kai, he would make an exception. He would make Kai pay for all the misery he had cause
Kai began to laugh as Jack swung the punch of his life, every fibre of his inmost being, every ounce of anger. He put all of his heart, soul and strength into this one. Time seemed to slow down as Jacks fist came towards the laughing Kai, until at last it came crashing down into Kai's nose.
Kai stumbled backwards and fell to the floor. Jack smiled the laughter ceased. Ac Blood began to flow from Kai' s nose, Kai clenched his teeth denied his deep urge to scream. Jack wasn't done. He picked Kai up by the shoulder, and drove his knee up full thrust into Kai's groin. Kai screamed out in pain as he fell to the floor.
"Jack!" Jack spun around. He squinted his eyes as a beam of light was shone towards them. It was Karen holding a flashlight as she limped towards them. Jack looked past her, hoping to see some police officers. There were none. Jack realised Karen had come alone.
"What do you know, two birds with one stone," Kai panted. Jack turned around to see what Kai meant. To his horror, he saw Kai making sparks. Then there was a searing heat and a bright light. That was the last thing Jack remembered.
* * * * * * * * * * *
There was a deafening explosion as some of the boards blocking the entrance into the oldest part of the mine flew off. The police knew that the worst had happened. Someone had detonated the coal dust. Without hesitation, a group of police officers rushed into the tunnel with their flashlights. Hanna cursed at herself. "What was that?" Chief Morris asked as he approached Hanna. "Huh? Oh, nothing," she said as she turned away from him. "Didn't sound like nothing to me," he replied. He sighed. "Hanna. I've never heard you use that kind of language except that time you lost several men under your command at that bank hold up three years ago. Would you mind telling me what all your cursing is all about?" "I'm sorry sir. It's just that I let Jack go in there, and I knew the dangers. 1 should have been the one to go." Hanna slammed her hands against the tunnel walls. "I'm sorry sir, I should never have let him go in there alone! I should have waited for backup..." Chief Morris put his hand on Hanna's shoulder. "We all make mistakes, and-" "No! There is no room for mistakes! I could have done better, I could have gone in myself, but I didn't! I was too afraid, I was too..." Hanna couldn't continue. She broke down sobbing, something she hadn't allowed herself to do in a very long time. Being a police officer was a hard job, a very demanding job, and as far as Hanna was concerned, only the strong ones survived, the ones who didn't cry. Yet here she was, crying her heart out. She felt ashamed of herself. "I shouldn't have let him go."
* * * * * * * * * * *
The world was like a spinning vortex, and Jack was in the middle of it, slowly being sucked into oblivion.
"You rang?" Kai's voice echoed around him. Just as Jack was certain that he was going to die from misery, He fell, and landed on a beach. He recognized this beach, why, it is the very beach that Kai had nearly committed suicide on. And there were voices around him, whispering, and echoing. There was one voice that stood out among the rest, and that was the voice of Karen.
"Jack." the voices didn't come from any direction in particular, but rather, the voices came from all around him. The sun slowly began to brighten. Jack tried to haul himself to his feet, but felt something restraining him. Another noise appeared in the distance, it was a beeping sort of noise. Slowly this world faded around him, and he found himself in another environment, a hospital. Slowly, the world became more coherent. Jack could see Karen looking down at him. There was something a wee bit different about her, but he just couldn't put a finger on it. There was a look of worry in Karen's face, and tears.
Jack stretched his arms. "Good morning." he mumbled.
Karen swiftly knelt down, and put her arm over Jack chest, and began to cry. "Thank God your all right," Karen managed between sobs. Jack clutched her hand, and held it firmly.
Jack looked at Karen's face, and noticed one of the two main differences. "You hairs shorter," Jack commented.
Karen smiled as she wiped the tears from her eyes. In fact, her hair used to go about half way down to her waist, but now, they only went down to her shoulders. The explosion had done quite a nice job of burning her hair shorter. The other thing which Jack immediately noticed was what he could not place a finger on earlier. Her face was somewhat scarred in a few places. These scars were due to small skin grafts put on some of her more serious burns.
The doctor had explained to Karen a week or so previously that Jack had breathed in a whole lot more coal dust than she had, and it had damaged his lungs. The doctors had to put him on the life support system, until Jacks lungs healed enough for him to breath on his own. During this time, Karen worried about everything that could possibly go wrong with the system. Power outages, overloads, or just plane old getting worn out. Fortunately, Jack was recovering.
While Jack was in the hospital, the police found Kai's body. The explosion he had created had caused tons of rock to come crashing down onto him. The reason the whole cave didn't cave in was that point where Kai ignited the coal dust, was extremely weak. Jack had just barely missed dying that way, unfortunately, his right leg was mangled beyond repair.
* * * * * * * * * *
7 months later
"Jack, you may kiss the bride."
Jack lifted up the veil that was covering Karen's face, and they kissed. Time seemed to stop for almost forever. After a seven month delay, they were finally married. Jack figured that some good had come from being forced into this delay. They had decided to go and seek counseling before getting married, and this would help them avoid a lot of future problems in their marriage.
Together, Jack and Karen walked down the isle of the church. Karen looked over to where her proud father sat, and smiled at him. He returned the smile. The guests followed the new couple down the stairs, where they would all dine.
As everyone was being seated, some people began to tap their wine glasses with their utensils. Karen's friend, Ann, stepped up to the microphone and addressed this. "A-hem. Could I have your attention please?" she waited for the guests to stop talking. "Thank you. Now, whenever we hear that tapping, we are going to draw the names of a couple out of this hat. See, when I draw YOUR name, you and your husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend have to kiss. But it's not quite that simple yet. You have to do it creatively. Then, Jack and Karen here, must try to imitate it." The guests began to laugh and applaud.
Immediately someone began tapping on a glass, which was followed by more tapping. Ann drew a name out of the hat.
"Could the Mayor and his wife come forward please?"
The mayor and his wife came forward, and the mayor was holding a slice of cheese, which was only about 7cm long. The mayor bit into one end, and his wife bit down onto the other. They ate their way towards each other which ended with a kiss.
"Oh boy." Jack mumbled as he grabbed a piece of cheese and limped towards the front of the room. Everyone had gotten used to Jacks limp. Seven months ago, he had his leg amputated because it just couldn't be fixed. Now instead, he word an artificial leg. Both Jack and Karen bit into the slice of cheese, and began to eat their way towards each other.
THE END
DISCLAIMER: Now for the disclaimers which seem kind of silly for anybody to need to put in. I don't own Jack, Harvest moon, or any of the characters (Like you didn't know that). I just own this story and my imagination.
Jacks throat felt extremely dry from all of the coal dust that was in the air. He was terrified, knowing that at any time, Kai could blow this joint, killing both of them. After a moments pause, Jack dismissed this notion. From what he knew of Kai, he was sure he wouldn't kill himself Even then, Jack wasn't able to convince himself of Kai wouldn't kill him. He remembered back to the night Karen had stopped Kai from committing suicide. He almost wished Kai had succeeded in his attempt to take his own life. Then he wouldn't be in this dangerous position.
It was so dark he could not see at all. He ran forward, and tripped, and landed on the rocky soil. Jack then realised he found Kai. "Kai," Jack stated.
"You rang?" came the reply in the voice Jack found so infuriating. Jack stood up just in time to be hit with one of Kai's super charged fists right in the jaw. Jack staggered back. The rage inside of Jack burned. He hated Kai, and what he had done. In every muscle, tendon, and artery, he could feel the fury pulsating, literally. He hated Kai for killing Mrs. Miller, for trying to kill Mr. Miller, and most of all, for hurting Karen. Jack had almost never been the type to be prone to violence. But for Kai, he would make an exception. He would make Kai pay for all the misery he had cause
Kai began to laugh as Jack swung the punch of his life, every fibre of his inmost being, every ounce of anger. He put all of his heart, soul and strength into this one. Time seemed to slow down as Jacks fist came towards the laughing Kai, until at last it came crashing down into Kai's nose.
Kai stumbled backwards and fell to the floor. Jack smiled the laughter ceased. Ac Blood began to flow from Kai' s nose, Kai clenched his teeth denied his deep urge to scream. Jack wasn't done. He picked Kai up by the shoulder, and drove his knee up full thrust into Kai's groin. Kai screamed out in pain as he fell to the floor.
"Jack!" Jack spun around. He squinted his eyes as a beam of light was shone towards them. It was Karen holding a flashlight as she limped towards them. Jack looked past her, hoping to see some police officers. There were none. Jack realised Karen had come alone.
"What do you know, two birds with one stone," Kai panted. Jack turned around to see what Kai meant. To his horror, he saw Kai making sparks. Then there was a searing heat and a bright light. That was the last thing Jack remembered.
* * * * * * * * * * *
There was a deafening explosion as some of the boards blocking the entrance into the oldest part of the mine flew off. The police knew that the worst had happened. Someone had detonated the coal dust. Without hesitation, a group of police officers rushed into the tunnel with their flashlights. Hanna cursed at herself. "What was that?" Chief Morris asked as he approached Hanna. "Huh? Oh, nothing," she said as she turned away from him. "Didn't sound like nothing to me," he replied. He sighed. "Hanna. I've never heard you use that kind of language except that time you lost several men under your command at that bank hold up three years ago. Would you mind telling me what all your cursing is all about?" "I'm sorry sir. It's just that I let Jack go in there, and I knew the dangers. 1 should have been the one to go." Hanna slammed her hands against the tunnel walls. "I'm sorry sir, I should never have let him go in there alone! I should have waited for backup..." Chief Morris put his hand on Hanna's shoulder. "We all make mistakes, and-" "No! There is no room for mistakes! I could have done better, I could have gone in myself, but I didn't! I was too afraid, I was too..." Hanna couldn't continue. She broke down sobbing, something she hadn't allowed herself to do in a very long time. Being a police officer was a hard job, a very demanding job, and as far as Hanna was concerned, only the strong ones survived, the ones who didn't cry. Yet here she was, crying her heart out. She felt ashamed of herself. "I shouldn't have let him go."
* * * * * * * * * * *
The world was like a spinning vortex, and Jack was in the middle of it, slowly being sucked into oblivion.
"You rang?" Kai's voice echoed around him. Just as Jack was certain that he was going to die from misery, He fell, and landed on a beach. He recognized this beach, why, it is the very beach that Kai had nearly committed suicide on. And there were voices around him, whispering, and echoing. There was one voice that stood out among the rest, and that was the voice of Karen.
"Jack." the voices didn't come from any direction in particular, but rather, the voices came from all around him. The sun slowly began to brighten. Jack tried to haul himself to his feet, but felt something restraining him. Another noise appeared in the distance, it was a beeping sort of noise. Slowly this world faded around him, and he found himself in another environment, a hospital. Slowly, the world became more coherent. Jack could see Karen looking down at him. There was something a wee bit different about her, but he just couldn't put a finger on it. There was a look of worry in Karen's face, and tears.
Jack stretched his arms. "Good morning." he mumbled.
Karen swiftly knelt down, and put her arm over Jack chest, and began to cry. "Thank God your all right," Karen managed between sobs. Jack clutched her hand, and held it firmly.
Jack looked at Karen's face, and noticed one of the two main differences. "You hairs shorter," Jack commented.
Karen smiled as she wiped the tears from her eyes. In fact, her hair used to go about half way down to her waist, but now, they only went down to her shoulders. The explosion had done quite a nice job of burning her hair shorter. The other thing which Jack immediately noticed was what he could not place a finger on earlier. Her face was somewhat scarred in a few places. These scars were due to small skin grafts put on some of her more serious burns.
The doctor had explained to Karen a week or so previously that Jack had breathed in a whole lot more coal dust than she had, and it had damaged his lungs. The doctors had to put him on the life support system, until Jacks lungs healed enough for him to breath on his own. During this time, Karen worried about everything that could possibly go wrong with the system. Power outages, overloads, or just plane old getting worn out. Fortunately, Jack was recovering.
While Jack was in the hospital, the police found Kai's body. The explosion he had created had caused tons of rock to come crashing down onto him. The reason the whole cave didn't cave in was that point where Kai ignited the coal dust, was extremely weak. Jack had just barely missed dying that way, unfortunately, his right leg was mangled beyond repair.
* * * * * * * * * *
7 months later
"Jack, you may kiss the bride."
Jack lifted up the veil that was covering Karen's face, and they kissed. Time seemed to stop for almost forever. After a seven month delay, they were finally married. Jack figured that some good had come from being forced into this delay. They had decided to go and seek counseling before getting married, and this would help them avoid a lot of future problems in their marriage.
Together, Jack and Karen walked down the isle of the church. Karen looked over to where her proud father sat, and smiled at him. He returned the smile. The guests followed the new couple down the stairs, where they would all dine.
As everyone was being seated, some people began to tap their wine glasses with their utensils. Karen's friend, Ann, stepped up to the microphone and addressed this. "A-hem. Could I have your attention please?" she waited for the guests to stop talking. "Thank you. Now, whenever we hear that tapping, we are going to draw the names of a couple out of this hat. See, when I draw YOUR name, you and your husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend have to kiss. But it's not quite that simple yet. You have to do it creatively. Then, Jack and Karen here, must try to imitate it." The guests began to laugh and applaud.
Immediately someone began tapping on a glass, which was followed by more tapping. Ann drew a name out of the hat.
"Could the Mayor and his wife come forward please?"
The mayor and his wife came forward, and the mayor was holding a slice of cheese, which was only about 7cm long. The mayor bit into one end, and his wife bit down onto the other. They ate their way towards each other which ended with a kiss.
"Oh boy." Jack mumbled as he grabbed a piece of cheese and limped towards the front of the room. Everyone had gotten used to Jacks limp. Seven months ago, he had his leg amputated because it just couldn't be fixed. Now instead, he word an artificial leg. Both Jack and Karen bit into the slice of cheese, and began to eat their way towards each other.
THE END
DISCLAIMER: Now for the disclaimers which seem kind of silly for anybody to need to put in. I don't own Jack, Harvest moon, or any of the characters (Like you didn't know that). I just own this story and my imagination.