Chapter Nine

NOTE: The following chapter goes between Ben's, Lisa's and Jackson's points of views. It also goes between different points of time. This might get confusing after a while, so just a heads up.

Ben watched his phone impatiently. She was supposed to call me over an hour ago, he thought. Secretly he was immensely worried. After what had happened last night, he felt he could safely assume that the man who had threatened him had taken Lisa. What was this all about?

He walked to the window and ruffled his hair. This was proving to be a very unpleasant month. Except for Lisa. But for all he knew, she could be dead, possibly worse. And Ben couldn't bear to think about that. I can never get anything right, he thought sadly. Whenever something wonderful walks into my life, I go ahead and ruin it. He turned away from the window. The last thing he needed was a view of the neighbor's.

Before he could think of anything else, he heard a scream pierce the air. Stunned, he turned around. The scream had come from the apartment across the street. Impossible, Ben thought, no one's lived there for years. But he could see clearly a man standing in the window. But he wasn't looking out the window. He was looking at something on the ground. Or someone.

Ben stared. He could see the man talking, but he couldn't hear any evidence that there was someone else in there. Except for the scream. Ben watched at the man talked angrily to whoever was on the ground. Then he looked up.

For a moment, both Ben and the man seemed to be in a state of shock. No bloody way, Ben thought, feeling as if the walls were closing in. He can't be here. Ben watched the man in horror as recognition sunk in.

Jackson Rippner.

Jackson seemed to get over his shock. He rushed away from the window. A moment later Ben saw him rush out the door of the building – and straight for Ben's apartment. Before he could think, Ben felt himself running out of his apartment, down the stairs, and out the back door. It was the only option he had, otherwise Jackson would find him. He ran down the street, but stopped. He had to see who was in the building Jackson was in.

Slowly, cautiously, he walked toward the door of the apartment, feeling a mix of fear of what he would find and dread of Jackson finding him.

---

Lisa stared at Jackson in shock.

"It can't be..." she said, her voice shaking.

"I'm afraid it can," Jackson said, sneering.

Lisa didn't know what to do. The man she had feared would find her for almost three months was standing directly in front of her. She noticed a scar on his throat, right where she had stabbed him. His voice was still raspy, although he was talking better than he had the last time she had seen him.

Before she knew what was happening, Jackson rushed at her, pinning her to the wall. Lisa was too weak to fight back, but she screamed until Jackson covered her mouth. "Don't make the mistake of thinking you can get out of this one, Leese," Jackson said menacingly. "There's nobody here who can help you." He let her slide to the floor, where she broke down sobbing. "You're pathetic," he said. "You know I've been following you for a while now, and I've noticed your little boyfriend." Lisa stared at him. "We've met before," he said, smiling horribly, "and the last thing I want is for either of you to get through this alive." He reached down and grabbed her arm, pulling her close to him. "I am going to kill every person you love or care about," he said, smile vanishing. "You're father, your little English friend, everyone. And then I'm going to kill you." Lisa stared at his eyes, cold and menacing, yet with deep pain and anger. "I want you to suffer the way you've made me suffer. I want you to-" he looked up suddenly. Lisa saw that his features filled with terror and anger. He stared out the window for the longest time, then suddenly rushed to the door. Before he left, he turned around in Lisa's direction.

"We'll talk again," he said, and rushed out.

---

Ben looked down yet another hallway, making sure the coast was clear. Then, silently, he started to open each of the doors. Every room was empty. Not surprising, he thought. The place was a wreck. Even worse than his house. I have to find the room that Jackson was in. He didn't know why he was bothering, he just had a feeling. The last thing he wanted was to encounter Jackson, but he knew he had no choice. He rushed down the hall, checking each door, but still finding them all empty.

Finally, he came to a door that was locked. Please let this be the one, he thought. Bracing himself, he kicked at the door. It gave easily. He rushed inside, but it was empty. The only evidence of life was the only window. It had been broken from the inside. He walked over to the window and looked out. He felt a strange sensation under his shoe. He looked under it.

It was blood.

Ben shuddered and looked out the window again. The window was fine when I first went in, he thought, so whoever broke the window broke it recently. He scanned the area below. He could see a chair lying on the ground, broken to pieces from a fall. So the person who had broken out had used a chair to do it. Clever. He continued scanning the floor ground until he saw a woman lying on the ground. Ben's jaw dropped.

It was Lisa.

---

Lisa stared at the door for a long time after Jackson left. What do I do, what do I do, what do I do, she thought. Her limbs would barely work, the window was nailed down, and the door was locked. She was trapped. She put her head in her hands, sobbing. He has me, she thought hopelessly. There's nothing I can do. She looked out the window again. She could see Jackson running across the street. She slid down. Jackson must have seen something. Or something saw him. Lisa looked out across the street. The window of the apartment across the street could easily see the window of the room Lisa was in.

Frustrated, Lisa banged her fist on the window. She gave out a sob when the glass gave, and her hand went through, getting badly cut. Lisa stared at the window, hope swelling up in her chest. She was about to hit the window again, but caught sight of her mangled hand in time. Probably not a smart idea, she thought. Blood was coming out of her hand at an alarming rate, dripping onto the floor. She looked around. Near the entrance of the apartment was a small wooden chair. Lisa crawled over to it and picked in up. It was fairly lightweight. She went over to the window and banged the window with the chair. This time the window shattered completely, spreading glass over the ground below. She looked around the outside wall, looking for footholds. There were many, but they were small. In her state, it would be difficult to scale the building.

Lisa breathed deeply and started to climb out the window. Already her head felt like it was spinning as she looked down at the ground. She was only two stories up, but it was still terrifying. She groaned slightly when she finally got out of the window, clinging to the windowsill. She looked below her for a foothold. She saw one, the windowsill of the apartment below her. She felt her bloody hand start to slip from its hold, but she squeezed tight, sending waves of pain up her arm. Choking back a sob, she put her foot on the sill and began to lower herself down.

She heard a crash from the apartment she had come from. In shock and terror at the thought that Jackson may have come back, her fingers slipped, and she felt herself falling.

She landed hard on her back, knocking the wind out of her. It hadn't been the longest fall, but it had been long enough. She felt as if her ribs were cutting into her insides. She felt her vision begin to go blurry. She suddenly saw someone stick their head out of the window. They withdrew for a moment, then looked out again. Lisa couldn't recognize him, but he then she knew he saw her, because he withdrew his head from the window and didn't return. If it was someone working for Jackson, she had to get out of there. Despite the immense pain, she stood up and started walking. Distantly she heard someone call "Lisa!" but she kept on going.

Strong, warm arms wrapped themselves around Lisa's waist.

"It's all right," she heard Ben's voice say. "You're safe now."

Lisa wanted to draw away. You work for Jackson, she wanted to say, but her mouth wouldn't obey her. Slowly, as Ben lifted her up into his arms, Lisa gave up the fight to stay conscious.

---

So Ben and Jackson definitely know each other. You'll be a bit surprised by Ben's past, despite how predictable this story has been so far. Lisa's going to be going through hell over the next few chapters. I mean, more hell than she's been going through at the moment. I guess I updated sooner than I expected, but don't expect any more updates for a while. Bye for now!