*Chapter 9*
During the night, Gibbs is down in his basement working on the boat. It's what he and Jamie usually do together. But Gibbs works on it alone sometimes since Jamie has a responsibility to her husband and son. They always find time to work on their boat.
As Gibbs uses a bench plane to shave the wood, Julianna walks down the stairs. She sits at the bottom of the stairs where Gibbs immediately notices her. He stops what's he's doing and looks at her. In her arms is Benny the Horse.
"What are you doing up?" Gibbs asked.
"Can't sleep." She replied.
"I need to speak with you about something." Gibbs said as he sits next to her. "Are you happy here with me?"
"Yes." She answered without hesitation. "Are you happy I'm here?"
"I'm very happy you're here." He said with a smile. "Julianna, I'd love for this to be permanent. I'd love for you to stay here and have permanent custody of you. I'm looking forward to the day where I can sign the papers making that happen. I want that more than anything in the world right now. And I know that's what you want too. But you need to work with me on this in order for that to happen."
"I know."
"Your teacher spoke with me earlier. She told me you've been acting up in class." Gibbs said. "I'm not mad. I'm not going to punish you. I just want to know why."
"I don't know why."
"Julianna, you're not going to lose me." He said. "School is the only environment which you're accustomed to that both your mother and I have in common. Due to the common environment, you're either afraid the same thing is going to happen where you end up losing me too… Or it's too much for you to process as it reminds you that your mother is truly gone. Either way, the environment angers you inside."
"They took her away from me." Julianna said in a slightly agitated manner in reference to the car accident a couple weeks ago. "They killed my mother."
"Let that anger out." He gets up and stands in front of her. "Stand up and hit me. Don't be afraid. Just let it out."
Julianna stands and begins pounding her fists into Gibbs' gut. She hits him with all her might until she tires herself out and starts crying. Julianna sits down and her head falls into her hands, covering her face. Gibbs kneels down. He embraces her.
"I miss her so much." Julianna whimpered in his arms.
"I know you do." Gibbs tries to comfort her as she cries. He's glad she finally got the anger out. It's something Julianna really needed to do.
Meanwhile, across town, Apocalypse lurks in the shadows concealed by the darkness of an unlit street. His eyes focus on a bar with a row of motorcycles outside of it. The only thing he has eaten all day is the French fries eight-year-old Taylor shared with him. That and the cheap breakfast the state provided while in prison waiting for his transfer.
Inside the biker bar, a couple men are playing pool, darts and drinking like there's no tomorrow. The front door busts open as Apocalypse enters. Attention is immediately drawn to him.
"Well look at this big boy." A man at the pool table said.
"I think he's lost." Another man commented.
"Maybe we can help him find his way." A third man said.
"Isn't he the prisoner who escaped this morning?" A fourth man wondered.
"Yeah, I believe he is." A sixth man said.
"He doesn't look so tough." A seventh man commented.
"We're going to fuck you up big boy. Not even your mommy will be able to…" Before the eighth man could finish, Apocalypse grabs him by the face and squeezes. "Aaaahhh!" The man cried.
The third man hits Apocalypse's arm with a bar stool. The escaped prisoner swings his free arm toward the man. The impact causes the man to fly into the air and land on a wooden table, breaking it. He then shoves the eighth man away from him.
"Oww, my face…" The eighth man cried in pain while on the floor.
Two bikers take their pool queues and attack. Apocalypse just stands there. The first pool queue smashes against his head and breaks due to the force of impact. The other pool queue breaks against his side. The escaped prisoner is unfazed by both attacks. He grabs the two bikers and throws them.
The bikers quickly regroup. The eight of them charge at Apocalypse from all angles. Seconds later, a couple of the bikers fly in all directions; they bash against the walls and into chairs and tables.
Apocalypse grabs the third biker and forcibly rips his jaw out. The man falls to the floor, bleeds out and dies. The sixth biker takes out a knife and tries to stab him. The escaped prisoner grabs the man's arm, twists it, thrusts his foot into the man's side and rips the arm out. Apocalypse tosses the arm to the side as the man falls to the floor and bleeds out.
With two bikers dead, Apocalypse approaches another who is hurt on the floor nearby. He lifts his foot.
"No! Please no!" The second biker pleaded for his life. In one quick smash of the foot, the man's entire rib cage crushes into his heart and lungs causing an instantaneous death.
As the eighth biker is trying to stand, Apocalypse grabs his head and slams it into a support column. The force of impact causes the man's skull to shatter causing a quick death.
A chain whips against Apocalypse's back. The escaped prisoner turns around. From the look in the escaped prisoner's eyes, the fourth biker can tell he's screwed. The biker whips the chain again but Apocalypse catches it with his hand. Before the biker can let go of the chain, a jolt pulls him directly into the free hand of the escaped prisoner. In a couple forcible maneuvers, the man is in a headlock. Apocalypse thrusts his knee into the man's back, shattering his spinal cord. Then the man's neck breaks seconds later due to the headlock. The biker dies.
With three bikers remaining, Apocalypse grabs a table and approaches the first biker. He lifts the table above his head.
"Aaaahhhh!" The biker screamed. The table slams onto the man's face. Every bone in his face is crushed. Apocalypse slams his foot down on the table, crushing what's left of the biker's head.
The seventh biker stands up and staggers in the direction of the entrance in trying to escape. And the fifth biker stands up too. In making sure one doesn't escape, Apocalypse grabs the pool table, lifts it and throws it. The pool table smashes against the seventh biker, both of which crash through the window.
Apocalypse approaches the fifth biker and quickly pounds his fist into the man's gut. He falls to the floor. The escaped prisoner grabs the man and rams him against the wall. The force of the impact causes the man's neck to snap, bones to break and internal bleeding.
The biker underneath the pool table tries to get himself out. But he's stuck as the pool table is too heavy for him to lift. The biker panics as Apocalypse exits from the window.
"HELP!!!" The biker yelled.
The escaped prisoner leans down. He grabs the biker's jaw and squeezes it. The biker's jaw bone shatters. Then Apocalypse grabs the biker's tongue and rips it out. The blood loss is massive. The escaped prisoner breaks a leg off from the pool table as the biker chokes on his own blood. In one quick thrust, the pool table leg smashes the biker's head.
Apocalypse re-enters into the bar. He approaches the counter and reaches to the other side, grabbing the bartender who was cowering in fear the entire time. The hand of Apocalypse retracts upward, forcing the bartender face to face with him.
"Food." Apocalypse said in a creepy manner.
"In the back…" The bartender said with a shiver.
The escaped prisoner walks around the counter and enters into the back with the bartender still in grip. Apocalypse pulls the bartender toward him. He grabs the man's head with his free hand.
"Please don't kill me." The bartender cried. The escaped prisoner places his other hand on the man's head.
Silence befalls the bar as the bartender's dead body lies on the floor with a crushed skull. With now being alone, Apocalypse begins to eat whatever he can find.