Seeing as there was absolutely nothing to do in the trunk of the car, Jack opted to try and sleep as much as possible to keep himself from going absolutely insane. It wasn't as if he was going to miss anything important. Plus, he couldn't feel pain when he was sleeping. When he woke, however, his world was not in any way pleasant.
His stomach felt as though it was turning itself inside out. He didn't know how long it had been since he'd eaten, but cafeteria food definitely didn't last very long in one's system. If someone had told him his brain had been inflated with a bike pump, Jack would have believed them. He'd never experienced such a migraine in his life. It seemed as though he had permanent foot cramps that made it impossible for his toes to uncurl, and his ever-tightening calves weren't helping that situation. His ankles and wrists constantly stung from the unrelenting rope burn. His throat hurt more than the time he had strep. There was a pain in his lower back that he had never experienced before, and would never want anyone else to experience. And his shoulders. Dear god his shoulders. Before this experience, Jack had thought the worst muscle aches were those you get as you come out of your splits on a sore day. But the pain in his shoulders was at least a thousand times more intense. With every breath, he groaned. Every time he moved he couldn't help but hiss. And every time the car hit a patch of anything but purely flat road, he wanted to scream. He did scream a couple of times when speedbumps or brake checks were involved. All Jack knew was that if he made it out of this alive, he would never, ever, complain about stretching again.
"If I make it out alive…" that thought caught him off guard. Sure, Gareth had already said he planned to kill Jack, but the gravity of that threat hadn't hit him until just then. holy shit I gotta get out of here."/span he couldn't leave his mom alone. Not like this. Not after everything they'd been through. He had to escape. There was no other option.
Jack's eyes began darting around as if they would find something he hadn't yet observed in the cramped space he'd been stuck in for who knows how long. Obviously, he didn't find anything.
He'd seen in a few movies that if you were ever put in the trunk of a car, you were supposed to kick the taillight out and wave so another driver would call the police, but he didn't want to risk Gareth noticing the noise, a flying tail light, or his tied feet sticking out the back of the car. He was sure Gareth would take the next exit and either change course before the cops could catch up, or dispose of Jack right then and there somehow. So that left him with one option.
"This is gonna hurt…" He mumbled to himself.
Jack got himself turned around and bit down on a section of the sleeping bag he'd been given to muffle the screams he anticipated. He then flipped onto his back with a groan and got to work.
What seemed like an eternity of stretching and screaming later, Jack gave a final push and his wrists were behind his knees. His shoulders were on fire, even more so than before. He was almost sure he'd dislocated one of them as he forced them past his butt.
"Hard parts over." He told himself after he spat out the surprisingly dry sleeping bag. He couldn't quite tell whether it hurt or not when his feet were forced to flex as he slipped them through the loop that was his arms. Normally calf stretches felt amazing, but this one was in some kind of grey area between fantastic and excruciating.
"Okay…" He sighed to himself and tried to ignore the agony in his shoulders. He brought his hands to his mouth to begin untying his wrists, but hesitated before going for his feet instead. He wasn't sure how much longer they would be driving, or if Gareth planned to give him water when they stopped. If he only had time to undo one knot, he could run and fight with his hands tied; his feet, not so much. Hopping wouldn't get him far.
It took him a while to even find the knot in his ankle binds. His fingers were nearly numb from circulation loss, and the rope had been wrapped so many times it was near impossible to tell what was a knot and what was just twisted, overlapping fibers.
"Come on…" he wanted nothing more than to sit up so he could at least attempt to see what he was doing, but the trunk wasn't deep enough to allow for that, so he was stuck on his side in a position that slightly resembled a butterfly stretch, fighting with knots he could barely even feel.
"Yes, yes!" he celebrated quietly when the rope fell slack and he was able to kick it off of his ankles. He sighed in relief as his raw skin finally got a break from the abrasive binds and felt fresh air for the first time in days. "Okay, you got this." He told himself after a second.
The adrenaline was high and kept Jack's mind off of the pain he was in as he tried to find the knot in the ties around his wrists in the near pitch-black darkness of the trunk. He eventually got his teeth around what he hoped was the knot, but his excitement was short-lived as he felt the familiar sensation of the car merging off of the highway.
"Shit!" He hissed around the rope in his mouth. "Calm down." He commanded to his beating heart. He reminded himself that he'd fought countless black belts and won all but once. He'd even taken down Kai with a broken hand. He could do this. All he had to do was stun Gareth enough to get a head start and run for his life.
Jack's heart began beating even faster when he felt the car slow and the ignition turned off. He'd gotten the rope to loosen enough that he could shift his wrists around, but not completely free them.
"Well, that'll have to do." He breathed as quietly as possible. "You've got this."
Jack planted his hands and rolled onto his knees with his toes dug into the floor. As soon as the trunk opened, he would have to make his move. He waited, not daring to move a muscle, listening intently as the car door opened and slammed. He heard Gareth's footsteps crunching through what sounded like gravel, then some far off voices. Jack stayed poised, ready to spring.
After a few minutes, he heard the crunching footsteps returning to the car. Every muscle in his body tensed as he waited.
The footsteps stopped slightly to his right.
There was a brief jingling of keys.
The trunk opened.
Sorry for the long hiatus, life got crazy! I hope this cliffhanger won't last too long, but I can't promise anything. Leave a comment if you want, but if not, no worries! I just hope you enjoy the work!
