Chapter 2: Night Terrors
This day was passing by so fast, or so it seemed to Peter as he looked around for a magazine to buy. King waited patiently as his step-son skimmed through several pages of one magazine, putting it down and moving on to the next.
"Excuse me, you're only allowed to read that magazine once you buy it." The store clerk yelled from behind the counter. Peter turned around with annoyance in his eyes.
"Are you serious? How am I supposed to buy it if I don't know what's in it?" he said to the clerk. Once King turned to look at the chubby clerk, he shut up immediately. Peter smiled at King in thanks. Once he turned his attention to the magazine again, Peter heard the sound of a bullet ring through the air.
On instinct, he dropped to the floor, as did King. Looking over, the two realized that it was a group of robbers. They were making their way to the counter. King quickly pulled off his mask, a jaguar roar echoing through the air along with a burst of black cloud. He rarely did this.
Peter looked over to his father. Apparently, King did not want to be seen in his fighting form, so that the robbers would just leave without hurting anybody. Once they heard the sound, the robbers turned around, wondering where it came from. King quickly shoved the mask into his sweater pocket, trying to look inconspicuous.
Seeing nothing, the robbers turned back to face the clerk. "Give us the money!" one of them yelled. Peter began to rise to his feet, slowly. King saw this and motioned towards the exit. As soon as they saw their chance, King and Peter ran outside the door towards the black car outside.
King slid across the hood of the car as he removed the keys from his pocket. Peter quickly hopped into the passenger side and yelled out as a bullet came crashing through the top of his window. King started the car and reversed as fast as he could, hitting one of the criminals in the process.
They were off in less than two seconds. "Oh God." Peter said as he looked in the right side mirror. "They're getting in their car…"
"Hold on!" King yelled as he floored the pedal. Peter almost got whip-lashed as the car roared forward. Looking over, Peter realized that King was sweating heavily. He had never seen his father in fear before. King swerved the car as he turned down another road.
Bullets hit the trunk of the black car, causing Peter to scream in shock.
"Put your seatbelt on!" King yelled as he looked in his rear view mirror. Peter fumbled with his seatbelt. Since the car was going so fast, he couldn't get it to click.
"Don't worry, everything is going to be okay, you hear me?" King said calmly. Peter gulped harshly as he nodded. Closing his eyes, Peter gasped as he heard bullets continue to pelt the back of the car. Suddenly, he heard the sound of air rushing out of the right rear tire as King yelled out.
Uncontrollably, the car swerved to the right and crashed into the ditch next to it. The car landed on its side, a tree trunk holding the car from falling completely to the ground. Peter's door flung open and he yelled as he fell to the grassy ground beneath him. King still held on to the wheel, positioning himself so that he would not fall out of the vehicle.
"You okay!" King yelled out as he looked down to Peter. Peter tried to get up, but he had such a pain in his right arm, that he couldn't rise to his feet.
"I think I broke my arm. I just hope the car doesn't fall on me!" Peter replied. That's when he heard it. The sound of another car coming to a halt could be heard above on the road. Peter looked up to see one of the criminals aiming a gun at his face from above.
He closed his eyes and prepared to feel the bullet pierce his skin, ready to have his life cut short. He heard the bullet travel through the air, and he heard it hit something. He also felt heavier, but it wasn't him. Slowly, opening his eyes, Peter realized something. King was on top of him, and his eyes were wide with shock. He had jumped in front of him and took the bullet himself.
Looking next to him, Peter found a gun. Apparently, King had it on him. Grabbing the gun, Peter reached around King's shoulder and shot two of the criminals. The others ran to the car and took off as they heard sirens coming closer.
Dropping the gun, Peter put his hands on King. He was too heavy to move, so Peter just called his name over and over again. "King! King, wake up! Please? King, no! Stay awake, don't die, please! No!"
King's eyes closed slowly as Peter began sobbing. The sirens rang through his ears. Slowly, the sound of the sirens turned into some kind of buzzing.
Peter woke up screaming. He looked around and saw King sleeping on the bed next to his. Falling out of the bed, King ran over to Peter saying, "What's wrong? What happened? C'mon Pete, talk to me!"
Peter swallowed as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead. "Just a nightmare, that's all." Suddenly, Peter hugged his step-father, that dream really had him shook up. King didn't understand why Peter was hugging him, but he hugged back, happy that Peter was showing affection.
Once he broke the hug, Peter said, "I'm going to go take a walk to clear my head. Is that okay?" He asked King.
"Sure, but are you going to be okay?" King asked. Peter nodded and replied, "Yeah, I'll be fine. Go back to sleep, there's nothing to worry about."
Reluctantly, King nodded and went back to his bed and he watched Peter walk out the door.
"That was one intense nightmare. Maybe I'll feel better if I swim a few laps." Peter said. As he walked outside to the dark morning air, he realized that he was not alone. There was a woman already in the pool.
'It's her…' he thought to himself. 'It's that woman that broke my iPod.'
Slowly, Peter approached the pool. This was going to be interesting.