The Net: Nightmare on the Highway: Chapter 8

Jacob's eyes grew wide and he turned in his seat to make sure the mirror wasn't lying to him. As he turned, he saw a drop of blood fall to the shoulder of his seat, soaking into the fabric in an instant. Sean grinned at him, and gave a little evil laugh. Blood ran in rivulets down the side of his face. Jacob breathed out slowly before turning back to the road. With grim determination, and no warning, he spun the car around to face the other way.

Angela screamed, though her seatbelt kept her in place as Trelawney went flying to the other side of the car. Sean's head cracked against the side of the car but he recovered quickly. Sitting up, he reached his hands over Angela's head rest and looped his arms around her neck, choking her.

"Jacob!" Angela managed to get out, feeling Sean's icy skin against hers.

Jacob's breathing came faster matching his heart in a race against time. What would he do? What could he do? He wondered, shutting off the car's engine. Sean grinned at him, and choked her harder while Angela squeezed her fingers between his wrists and her neck. Jacob watched her face turning red, before turning in his seat to face them with his whole body. Trelawney turned his eyes back on Angela and seemed to caress her body and undress her with his look alone. While he was preoccupied, Jacob reached out with his right leg and stung Sean in his side, knocking him into the backseat and forcing him to let go of Angela.

While Sean was stunned Jacob climbed into the backseat with him and began pummeling his icy body. Angela got into the driver's side and watched the fight. Trelawney managed to get in several good punches to Jacob's head while the young man attempted to unlock the door on the other side of his enemy. His head snapped backwards and Sean was able to climb over him and deliver many more punches to his torso. Jacob moaned and tried to get up, but Sean had him pinned.

Angela got out of the car, ran around to the trunk and pulled out a crow bar. Opening the back side door, she swung the crow bar high in the air and let it come crashing down on Sean Trelawney's back. The man let out a loud scream and his body crumpled over Jacob. Angela threw the bar down, grabbed him by his ankles and hauled him out onto the pavement. Wasting no time, she'd grabbed the crow bar again before he had time to get up and come after her. She began waling his body, watching as large welts began to rise from his skin.

Surprisingly, it was Jacob who wrapped his arms around her from behind to keep her from doing more damage. He ushered her back into the car.

"Come on, let's get out of here. I think he's gone. I think it's all over. Finally," he said, starting the car up again, turning it around and driving away.

Angela was visibly shaking as road signs began appearing on the side of the highway once again. A large sign came into view up ahead and as they neared it, they found a hotel, the parking lot filled with cars.

"Angel, calm down. It's OK. We beat him! It's over!"

"How can you be so sure? I saw him get shot. I watched him die before my very own eyes, yet he came back!"

"It'll be fine. Trust me. Now look, let's just get a room for the rest of the night and forget everything that just happened."

Jacob parked the car and they got out.

"And what about Walter? Do you even know where the hell we are? What will Walter say when I'm late for work? And don't you have class in the morning?"

"No, my morning class is Thursdays. Tomorrow's only Tuesday. And you know we can call Walter and just explain that we went on a little road trip and you might be a little late, that's all. I'm sure he'll understand."

Angela gave a sarcastic laugh. "No he won't. This is not just some little road trip. It won't fly. Not with him. He's in the FBI!"

"Yeah and so are you. Look, don't worry about it. We're getting a room. We'll just spend the night relaxing. Forget what happened, get some sleep. And we can head back tomorrow. It'll all be like nothing ever happened."

"Riiight."

When Jacob approached the counter to reserve a room for the night the man in the maroon suit looked at him with a surprised look on his face, before bringing his hand up to his own face and gently touching it, as if something was there that couldn't be touched roughly.

Jacob remembered the fight in the car and shook his head.

"Don't worry. It's nothing. I'm fine. I just need a room for the night."

"Yeah, sure," the man said, still distracted by Jacob's face.

Flipping the lights on in their new hotel room, Angela was able to see Jacob's face in a clear light. Her breath caught in her throat and she stifled a cry before pushing him into a chair and ripping her purse open. She pulled out several band-aids and some Neosporin and kneeled down in front of him.

His face was covered in bruises, some of which had swollen and some had broken open. Squeezing some of the ointment onto her fingers, she gently spread it onto his wounds. He jerked back, surprised at the pain.

"Ow!"

"I'm sorry!"

"No, it's not you. Damn! That hurts!"

She finished applying the Neosporin and taped him up with band-aids. When she was done Jacob stood up to look at himself in the mirror and sighed when he saw his face covered in band-aids and bruises.

"What if he comes back?"

"Angel, we're here to forget everything."

Jacob went over to the bed where she was sitting and pulled her up beside him, his arm around her.

"Just forget it all. Forget everything that's ever happened. You are an amazing, no, the best, most amazing, computer programer in the world! You're known as Angela Marie Bennett and no one has ever known you as anything else. You and I met on a singles cruise last year, and ever since then, we've been hitting it off really well..."

"Jacob!"

"What? I was just trying to paint a grand picture. You mean that wasn't grand enough? Well, then, let's see..."