Of Birds and Hunters
The sequel to Severing Ties
Summary: The rollar coaster of leaving home has finally come to a halt, and Peter Parker is left scarred and in emotional turmoil. A best friend he thinks he loves doesn't help, and new problems arise as tempers flare, cruelty reaches new heights, and a certain concept is proven wrong.
Chapter 4: Buried Alive
Peter and Jackie had been in New York a week, and no sign of Phoenix had arisen. In the meantime, the duo chose to help the city out and stop petty crime.
"Do you think Annie and Nightingale mind if we help them along?" Peter asked.
"Nightingale?" Jackie didn't know who Nightingale was for a minute. She thought about it and thought about it. Finally it dawned on her. "You mean Karen. Okay. No, I don't think they mind at all. They were, after all, the only ones protecting this city."
"You remember what they told us the first day? About the man who robbed a bank, and then threw the money back?" Peter recalled.
"Yeah. That was weird. Any ideas?"
"That's why I was asking you…"
A piercing scream was heard across the street.
"Give me all your money!" Kraven growled to the Convenience Store clerk.
She violently nodded as she frantically opened the cash register.
"Back off, Jungle Man!" a voice yelled. Kraven got a well placed kick in the chops. When he looked, he saw a blur of red and blue.
"Finally," he snarled. He whipped out a needle and hit Spider-Man in the forearm as he went to punch him. He pressed down, and the tranquilizer started working immediately.
"SPIDER-MAN!" another voice yelled. It was a girl, this time, and she was dressed in all black. She moved in and tried to hit Kraven.
"Get away from me, little lady," he said with a deliberate accent. "This has nothing to do with you."
"LET HIM GO!" She was crazy, trying to hit him with every ounce of strength she had. Kraven could see that she was getting tired, and that she wasn't thinking, just randomly kicking and punching. He shook his head and took out his spare tranquilizer. He was saving it in case Spider-Man woke up before Kraven was done with him, but obviously this woman would not leave him alone.
"I do not want to do this," he warned.
"Fuck you!" The girl actually kicked him in the groin.
Good thing I took that pain-repellant elixir before I did this, Kraven thought as he jabbed the needle into the girl's neck. She went limp instantly and sank to the ground.
Jackie remembered a man in fur and leather robbing a store. She recalled Peter getting the first hit. Then she saw him get injected with something. After that, the details became a bit blurred. Now she was lying in the middle of a convenience store with a pounding headache and a sore neck. She stood up, and noticed that she couldn't keep her balance.
"Thank you for trying to help me, Jack-of-All-Trades," the clerk said with a smile.
"Any time. Just…" She almost fainted, but grabbed on to the counter. Her head spun something dreadful. She waited a few minutes, and then took a deep breath. "Did you see where that guy took Spider-Man?" she asked softly.
The clerk just shook her head sadly.
"Thanks anyway." Jackie disappeared, and collapsed in her house in Iceberg, the only place she could recover without worrying about time.
A swirling consciousness came back to Peter. He had no idea where he was. He opened his eyes to find it completely dark. He felt squished in on all sides. He tried to move his arms to find himself trapped. An absurd notion came to him as he tried to feel around where he was. He was buried alive!
An insane panic overtook him. Frantically, he tried to move his hands, to try to dig himself out. It was then he noticed that the dirt wasn't packed very tight. He was soon able to dig up. His breath was running short. He had to get out of there, and he had to do it fast, or else he'd suffocate.
Minutes later, fingers grubby and bloody, Peter thought he saw a quick glimpse of starlight. He didn't dare believe he was so close. He'd never had claustrophobia, especially after the spider-bite, so he didn't understand the spinning sensation his head was subject to while closed in by earth. Trying to clear his mind, he set it back to the task at hand.
The next morning, Jackie woke up, and felt whole, again. She looked around her room and rubbed her eyes. It was then she remembered Peter. She mentally searched for him quickly. When she found him, she teleported to his location.
Arriving in the middle of a dense forest, she knelt down and pressed softly on a patch of ground. Feeling its giving nature, she started digging.
He couldn't breathe. He couldn't get out of his own grave fast enough. He was on the brink of unconsciousness, and he knew he was going to die. He didn't even know why that crazy jungle man wanted to kill him. Drifting away seemed the most painless answer. Just as he resolved to close his eyes for the last time, he was blinded by light.
"PETER!" It was a shrill shriek, and Peter had the reflex to cover his ears. He found he could breathe.
A/N: IT'S A CLIFFHANGER!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Sorry about that…
Mary-Jane Watson Parker: -wink- I'm sorry to hear about your grandfather. Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it!
Darth Zelda: Go ahead and feel sorry for her. I did, too, before I realized that Candace is just as cold and calculating. -sigh- I don't think physical pain is ever necessary. Thanks for reviewing! Hope you like this chapter.
Oddball91: Hey hey hey. Sorry I talked so much during the concert. I just missed you guys so much and there was so much to tell! I've got her new music…some of it, anyway. Yes, -is ashamed- I downloaded it. But I will buy the CD when it comes out, so it isn't technically stealing. Right? Thanks for reviewing. Hope you like this chapter, and sorry for the cliffie. Ttys
Hazelle: They all came from my own head. Scary, isn't it? I'm sorry. It was meant to introduce those characters to you so that you did understand… -sweatdrops- Thanks for reviewing. Here's more!