CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Jack felt as though his whole body was on fire. The pain from the bullet wound in his shoulder was quickly spreading throughout his body. His heart was beating fast and was thumping hard against his chest. It even seemed as though he could hear it; ticking loudly like an annoying clock in the middle of the night.

Climbing to his feet, Jack looked down at Sam; now lying in a puddle of her own blood. He knew he had to hurry up and get out of there; if not for himself, then for Martha's sake. He needed to find her.

Leaning down, Jack picked up his jeans off the floor and using his good arm, he pulled them on. Looking down at his wound, he grimaced. The bullet was still lodged in his shoulder and it was making the pain worse. Jack leant back down and picked up the knife that was still clasped tightly in Sam's hands and then rummaged through her coat pockets. Feeling a little relieved when he found what he was looking for the headed into the bathroom to remove the bullet.

He knew it wasn't life threatening, but he also knew that he had to remove the bullet so that the bleeding could be stopped. Wanting to get this over and done with as quickly as possible, he grabbed a towel from the rack and placed it in his mouth; biting down. Turning on the tap, Jack rinsed the knife under the steaming hot water. Turning the tap off, he then placed the tip of the knife into the bullet wound.

"Fuck," Jack bit down; the obscenities muffled by the towel in his mouth. As much as this hurt, Jack kept on going. He dug the knife in further until he felt the bullet under the metal. Grinding down, he lodged the knife under the tip of the bullet. As he did, the bullet gave way, and popped out of the bloodied wound and into the once white sink.

Rushing back out into the bedroom, Jack ripped a piece of the bed sheet off and tied his wound; keeping the pressure on it so that it could stop any excess bleeding. Grabbing the rest of his clothes and all the weapons, he walked out of the motel room and across the road to where he and Martha had previously stashed their car.

He drove the car out onto the road and headed back in the direction of Summer Bay. That's where Corey would be taking her.


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"Why are you doing this?" Martha turned her head and looked at Corey.

Corey grinned at her like a maniac. "Because I can," he sneered.

Martha scoffed at him. "You think you'll become powerful by knocking off my whole family," she stated.

"Something like that," Corey smirked. "I can't help it, but I just love the feeling I get when I hold a power over someone," he added.

"You won't win," Martha shook her head. "We won't let you," she pointed out.

"But with you and your old granddaddy dead, there won't be any reason for anyone to stop us," Corey laughed.

Martha looked away from him in disgust. What she wouldn't do to lodge a bullet in his face now. Or even set him on fire, just like he had planned to do to her.

"Do you know how my parents died?" Corey's question surprised her.

Martha once again looked over at him; noticing the look of pride that washed over his face. "I'm going to assume that you killed them," she started to fell a little sick to the stomach.

Corey winked at her. "You assumed correctly," he nodded. "My dad, he was a heroin addict, so his death was pretty much passed off as an overdose. All I had to do was stick a needle in his arm. Everybody thought he killed himself. And mummy dearest; I put a bullet in her chest. Same deal with my beloved sister. She really didn't see it coming," he explained.

Martha perked up at the mention of Amanda Vale. "Amanda's dead?" she questioned.

"Sure is. I'll add Detective Petey to that list too," Corey laughed. "You want to know another good way to get rid of a person? You know; so it looks like an accident," he then said.

Martha shrugged. "Even if I say no; you'll still tell me," she exclaimed.

"Gosh, you are really smart," Corey said sarcastically. "But anyhow; as I was saying. So many ways to kill a person; It's as easy as cutting a brake fluid line," he looked over at her maliciously.

Martha could feel the anger rising in her throat. Her mum. Her dad. He killed them. And the Mackenzie's too! He was the reason for her suffering.

"And poor sweet Katie Holden. I was only fourteen at the time, but I was with my dad the day he ran her over. It was the first time I'd ever seen a person die. It was amazing," Corey continued with his torment.

Martha started to cry. His family was the reason Jack didn't have a mother now either. Why was life being so cruel to them? Looking back up at Corey, Martha could see his eyes daring her for a response. Snapping her gaze back onto the road in front of them, Martha suddenly was overwhelmed with a feeling of empowerment. She no longer felt afraid of him. He'd done wrong by her one too many times.

"You bastard," Martha screamed out as she raised her fist and smashed it into his face.

Corey raised his hand to his nose. "You fucking bitch," he yelled at her.

Quickly, grabbing at the steering wheel, Martha jerked it towards her. The car went flying to the side. Forgetting about the pain in his nose, Corey snatched back at the wheel. He slammed on the brakes and the car went skidding off the road and down into a muddy bank.

Martha braced herself for the impact.

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