Running On Adrenaline Chapter 3
Heyy everyone! I've been working on writing a new story and hope to post it by the end of this week if im lucky along with a new one-shot for my story Livin' Life To It's Fullest :) Not much to say besides follow my Instagram and Twitter (both are KAD900), my Keek: KAD900, and my YouTube: KAD900. I hope you all enjoy! REVIEW!
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Kickin' It.
Jack's POV
We sat there staring out the severally cracked front window in astonishment as we both tried to convince ourselves what had happened wasn't real.
Without warning, Kim swiftly opened the door and slammed it shut.
Because of her actions, I quickly snapped myself out of my trance and jogged around the car to meet up with her.
She slowly shuffled her feet on the pebbly road as she made her way to the side of the road.
Just as I was a few feet away, she dropped to her knees and sunk her head in her wrists, covering her face from me.
Quickly seeing this, I quickly finished making my way to her, got down on my knees like her, and then wrapped my arms around her, hoping to sooth her at least a bit.
I knew her mind was probably on a crazy rampage trying to think straight after what happened and it was only a matter of time before this would happen.
The stress she's gone through is just too much to handle in a two day period.
I mean, wouldn't you be vulnerable if you were almost killed, especially more than once?
As I thought about all of this, I fell backwards so I was now sitting flat on the floor.
Kim collapsed deeper into me as I held her tightly, hoping her suffering would come to an end.
I honestly wouldn't blame her.
What if YOU were almost killed?
It's a traumatizing thing for anyone to experience.
We literally sat there until we heard the roar of an engine approaching.
Driving ahead of us was a single police car.
Seeing a cop car pulling up, Kim managed to stop shedding her occasional tears and watched up ahead as the car came to a stop only a few feet from us.
Seeing that Kim and I were sitting on the ground, the cop quickly got out of his car and ran up to us.
Just as he began asking what happened, he crouched down to our level.
Just as I began to explain, the unbelievable happened.
His blue eyes stared us down with worry and concern just a few words spilled from my mouth before the cop fell sideways to the ground, blood spewing from the side of his head.
Having once again no time to react, I saw Kim put her hand over her mouth from my peripheral vision as I moved my way in front of Kim, putting me between Kim and the side in which the bullet came from.
After looking around for a few seconds, I knew we had to get out of here so I led Kim behind the car quickly and explained to her "Kim, we have to get out of here."
That exact moment, the sound of bullets ricocheting off of the car we were previously in ringed in our ears as bullets zipped over our head.
We both ducked with instinct behind the car on the rocky ground as I put my arm around Kim's shoulder.
Kim's POV
One second I was balling my eyes out, the next a cop who we finally think can help us gets shot, and now, we're the ones getting shot at.
Rapid machine gun fire shot the car in front of Jack and I as we both hugged the ground, hoping to avoid any stray bullets.
We both knew we had to get out but before I could say anything, Jack's hero complex cut me off.
"On three we'll make a run for the trees behind us ok?"
I swallowed hard before nodding furiously.
I just wanted all this to stop.
Why me out of the billions of people in the world?
Slowly, he counted until he had reached three.
Just before he did I stopped him.
After giving me a confused look, I began to explain.
"Do you mean on three like on three or-" before I could even finish my sentence he interrupted me mid-sentence and yelled "Just run, now!"
Though it took me a second for me to comprehend that he gave me the go ahead, my mind snapped to and I took off.
Without looking back, I ran furiously into the thick trees.
Behind me I heard footsteps and assumed they were Jack's since he was right beside me before I ran off.
My feet ached slightly from the unstable ground and my heart continued to race with anxiety.
I continued to run and run for minutes on end as Jack caught up to me.
The engine of a vehicle could be heard, revving loudly behind us as the path ahead of us began to slowly lite up.
A car was now driving behind us, threatening to run us over.
Speeding up by the second, it continued to inch near us.
The wind blew furiously through my hair and Jack's as we sped off, hoping to escape from the pursuer.
Soon we found ourselves approaching a cliff of some sort which lied not far ahead of our current location.
In a few seconds, we made it to the edge and after coming to a quick halt, we looked down to see a small stream at the very bottom.
An easy escape right?
Wrong.
Down below lied very, very large boulders and the chances of us hitting one would be pretty high so the option of jumping is out of the question.
Since we weren't moving, the car now behind us was catching up.
He was currently having difficulty getting around a narrow patch of trees and was forced to slowdown.
As he struggled to pass, I saw Jack pulling out his belt from his jeans he was currently wearing.
After successfully getting it off with ease, he again looked over the edge as I shot him a confused look.
I could practically see the gears in his head turning wildly he gave me a weak smile back.
This was not going to be good.
Jack's POV
After looking over the edge for a way out, my previous idea of jumping into the stream was pushed aside when both Kim and I saw enormous rocks all over the floor of the river.
Knowing we didn't have much time left, I looked to our pursuer to see he was stuck.
There was a group of thick trees which were extremely close to one another.
Just my luck, he happened to be stuck in the middle.
Because that saved me a few seconds, I quickly thought of a way out of here while Kim gave me an odd look.
Once my idea came to mind, after quickly taking off my belt, I once again looked over the edge for something that could work for my plan.
After seeing a large, extended tree root from a tree somewhat behind us, I knew it would do.
Seeing the maniac driver was now slamming his car door open in hopes to get out, I knew we had to move.
After motioning Kim to me, she shot me another look of confusion as I began to explain to her my plan.
"Kim, I need you to hang on tight to me ok?"
"Jack, what are you thinking of doing?"
"Kim, just trust me. As long as you hold on tight, we'll be fine."
I could tell she was very unsure of my idea but nodded, telling me she understood.
Seeing the man just stepped a single foot out of the car, I motioned Kim to my front side and after I moved closer to the edge, I gave her the silent go ahead to grab on.
After reaching her arms around my neck firmly, I made sure she was ready before I jumped off the cliff.
Only a second in the air, I swung the belt at the tree root that was hidden just slightly under the ground of the top where we were previously on just seconds ago.
My belt snagged on the root and luckily hooked on smack center.
My arms tightened as I now was in control of whether or not Kim and I fall to our probable death or not.
My arms slowly began to strain by the second as our immediate impact sent a shockwave of ache to my arms.
For a few moments, Kim and I hung there, hopeful that our follower wouldn't see us.
Knowing it would probably be easier on both of us, I whispered to Kim "Kim, you think you can wrap your legs around me so you don't fall?"
With a slight grunt of effort, she managed to swing her legs around me, putting slightly less pressure on my arms.
We hung there like that, dangling above the river for a few minutes before we luckily heard an engine start, then slowly drive away.
After waiting a few moments for the purr of the engine to disappear, I then whispered to Kim. "Kim, I'm gonna need you to climb up me and get up there first."
Seeing the tension not only on my face, but on my arms too made her go straight to climbing.
She carefully moved to my backside before stretching out to grab ahold of the floor above.
Once she put both of her hands on top, I steadied her as she pulled herself up.
The moment she was up, I began to use the remaining strength in my arms to grab ahold of the ledge as well. Avoiding Kim, I threw the belt back to the surface and locked my hands to the edge.
After seeing a root breaching the ground from below only a foot or so in front of me, I swung my weight forwards and grabbed ahold, only to feel the unease in my stomach as I began to drop.
Kim's POV
Seeing Jack's arms were being strained and from his concentrated face, I knew I had to hurry and climb up not only for my sake, but probably for Jack's too.
I swiftly moved to his back and climbed up, making sure to avoid bumping his arms since they were getting weaker by the moment.
It felt like eternity before I could pull myself over the ledge onto the ground when in reality, it was probably only seconds since I was running on an adrenaline rush.
Once I used my arm strength to pull myself up and over, I turned to Jack who now had his two hands wrapped firmly on the edge.
I saw him reach for a root about a foot in front of me when the unthinkable happened.
Just as he grabbed it, the root broke in half, threatening to make him fall.
Just as I saw him begin to move downwards, most likely beginning to fall, I slid forwards, reaching out and grabbing his hand just in time.
While his one hand held onto mine, his other readjusted so he had an even better grip.
Both our faces began to slowly turn red as the pressure from both our uneven weights battled it out.
I knew I wasn't the most muscular person in the world, but you could see my arms tighten too as Jack's began to bulge out more.
A single vain popped out and traveled up his arm as I continued to pull him upwards.
Seconds after, we managed to get him up and over, but once he did, he collapsed from exhaust… on me.
Just from that I knew he must be drained since I did less strenuous work and I'm already worn out.
For a few moments, he laid there, his body unmoving as I knew he was fatigued.
Not too long later, he finally realized he was still on top of me and after blushing slightly, he attempted to get up.
Just as he did, his arms almost gave out before I managed to catch him. I placed my hand on his chest just in time, his torso now only inches from mine.
Sensing the awkward tension, he mumbled an apology before forcing himself up as I did the same after him.
He walked over to his belt which I saw was only a few feet from me, put it on, then came back over to me.
Seeing he was both mentally and physically tired, I cut him off before he could speak and said "I know Jack, let's go."
With that, we both made our way back to the road to find ourselves back at the wreck we were previously at.
Since we were further from Seaford, we decided to go in the opposite direction in hopes to find a taxi or train… something that could get us home.
We walked for minutes on end until both Jack and I saw before us, a small, rundown town.
Though Seaford was pretty small, it was obvious that this town was smaller from a mile away.
The buildings were faded and matter of fact, the road was a dirt one.
As we walked, dust was kicked upwards into the air behind us as the ground was so dry, you'd probably see a plant every square mile.
Ok, maybe I'm over exaggerating a bit but you catch my gist right?
Smack center of the town laid a long, narrow, train track that stretched straight through the town.
Bingo.
Jack's POV
Ok, so we found train tracks… that's a start.
My eyes scoped around for something of interest when Kim tapped my shoulder and pointed.
"Jack… look."
There before us was a small building labeled "Train Station" in big letters on a wooden sign that hung above the door.
As we changed our direction to make our way to the station, the few people who were outside gave us weird looks as they saw new strangers oddly dressed in their secluded town.
They probably don't see many visitors and when they saw us, let alone how we were dressed, they probably were intrigued in us.
Just a few feet before Kim had reached the door, I jogged over to the door, grabbed it, then opened it for her, earning a quiet yet audible ring that came from the bell hung above the door.
While watching her walk in, giving me a smile in gratitude, I took one last look at the townsfolk before turning to go inside with her.
One person nearby the door was a man fully dressed in a black suit, no white on him whatsoever.
He was sitting at a table outside a small burger joint, his pitch black hair blocking most of my view since he had his head tilted down in the opposite direction of me, as if avoiding my glance.
His tanned skin rarely popped out of his outfit as for it covered almost every crevice of his body, all except his hands, his head, his neck, and a small part of his chest that his buttons he had left undone had shown.
Though he was very puzzling, he seemed no threat at the moment and decided not to bring it up to Kim unless necessary.
When I walked in, I saw the place was pretty deserted.
Only seven people filled the waiting room not including Kim and I.
Kim stood at the counter and already began talking to the older man at the counter before the door shut, making her turn around to the sound of the bell directly behind her.
Once her eyes laid on mine, she turned to the man, whispered something to him, and then walked over to me.
"The closest train they have leaves in a few hours and it's to a town right by Seaford. He said it'll be fifteen each."
"Ok, just one problem. I used up most of my money at the hotel."
She knew indeed I was right about my point and bit her lip, her brows scrunching together as she thought deeply of an idea.
She turned around in her spot, looking out the window of the train station.
Not much longer than a few seconds later, a plan came to her and her face immediately lit up.
Kim's POV
If we want to catch that train, we have to hurry.
Where can you earn some quick cash in a town like this?
As much as I disapproved of the idea, I knew it could work.
I quickly took ahold of Jack's hand and ran out of the place, pulling him behind.
Since he was caught off guard, it took him a few seconds to catch himself from stumbling any more before he could normally follow.
Less than a block away from the train station was a restaurant with a sign that read in the window "Help Wanted".
Without hesitation, I dragged Jack in to see a restaurant… just something in it I didn't expect to see.
To the right as you walked in, there was a countertop that was lined up against the wall with stools where you could sit, a single waitress taking an order from a group of younger men dressed in leather, and a bartender behind the counter to our right.
You're still wondering what I was referring to that was abnormal right?
Well, here it is…
In the center of all this, was a large, dome shaped cage.
For a band to preform perhaps?
Who knows?
Just then, the waitress began to walk away from the table when one of the men closest to her slapped her on her behind, earning a him a glare as they continued to laugh, taking a sip of his beer mug on the table.
Trying to ignore what had just happened, she walked over to us and put a fake smile on her face while asking "Hi, how may I help you?"
Taking control, I quickly began talking before Jack could and explained "Hi, yeah um, we saw your help wanted sign in the window and thought maybe there could be a way to possibly earn some quick cash in a few hours?"
"How much?"
"Well, at least thirty to get a train ride and it leaves in less than four hours."
"Hm, well, maybe there might be something you can do. In about a half hour there will be a dinner rush and the place will be loaded. You could do some cleaning during that time if you want. I know the boss won't mind just this once, especially if you do a good job."
"Ok, sure. When do we start?"
"As soon as people start coming. Tonight's main event is the most popular so as a fair warning, things might get crazy, most likely violent."
Though the violence part shook me a little, both Jack and I knew we needed the money.
We could be careful.
What's the worst that could happen anyways?
Time Skip: A Half Hour Later
"Sir. Sir! Could you please put that chair down?"
"Why? I'm just having a little fun!" the drunk man slurred over the screaming as I ducked under an incoming beer bottle that whizzed right by me.
"You think I give a horse's behind? I'm the one who has to clean this pig sty up! Now please,put it down!"
"Oh yeah? Who's gonna make me chickadee?" he laughed, his country accent noticeable as he took another mouthful of his beer before standing on the table nearest to him, screaming at the top of his lungs.
He then took off his cowboy hat he was wearing and threw it similar to a frisbee it out into a mob of girls standing at a table.
Instead of kicking his country butt all the way to Texas, I decided to just pick up the beer bottles around the table, putting them in a trash bin I was wheeling around with me to pick up the mess.
Just as I reached to pick up the last bottle at the table, my hand was met with shards of broken glass when the man above me on the table slammed it down in front of me.
After cringing in pain, I brought my hand close to me so I could inspect it quickly.
Though the new cut on the palm of my hand was bleeding down to my wrist, I carefully picked up the rest of the glass before heading to the back of the restaurant to throw out the garbage.
It only took a few minutes to completely empty the trash and as soon as I turned to walk back inside, I was met with Jack coming out to do the same.
"Hey." He lightly smiled as I put my injured hand behind my mobile trash bin, knowing he would murder the man who "cut" me.
Luckily for me, he didn't notice my action and walked out before dumping the trash in a few seconds which I couldn't do since my hand was wounded.
"Well, I guess it's time to go back to work." He said as we both knew we didn't want to go back in there.
I tried to avoid his eyes so he wouldn't get a good look at them as I put on a fake, yet warm smile.
Most likely noticing my unease, he then asked with concern "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." I said, faking another smile as he seemed unsure whether to just take my word for it or not.
He soon came to a decision and a few moments later, he asked me "What's wrong?"
"Nothing-"
"Then why are you having a hard time telling me that?" he quickly countered, cutting me off.
Knowing he was right, I tried my best to say something but just couldn't.
Seeing me speechless, he then quickly came back over to me and grabbed my shoulders as I looked at the ground.
"Kim, look at me. You can't hide it from me, now what's wrong?" he asked as I forced myself to look at him.
Without saying a word, I just moved my injured hand forwards to him, nervous about what was going to come out of his mouth.
Immediately, his pupils dilated and his hands carefully moved to my hand to inspect the laceration on my palm.
"Kim, who did this?"
"It was an accident-"
"Kim."
The way he said my name made me go limp in the inside.
I knew he just wanted to help but in my mind, I knew it was a better idea if he didn't, not just for his sake, but for mine as well.
"A guy in the bar. He got intoxicated and he threw a bottle on the floor in front of me."
Since the glass had only cut me, he took his over shirt off and wrapped it around my hand, leaving him in only a black tank top.
"Kim, I want me to show me who did this."
"Jack, no. I'm not gonna have you get hurt over someone that did something almost any person in here could've done."
"Kim, I promise I won't do anything serious unless he tries to hurt you again. I just wanna see this guy."
Knowing it was no use to hold out the debate, I just nodded as he followed me back inside, following right behind me as we snaked through the crowd.
Jack's POV
Eventually I managed to get Kim to show me the idiot who hurt her.
I followed her closely behind as we made our way through the thick crowd, watching as they threw bottles at the cage the preforming band played in.
In a minute or two, we finally made it to the table and she informed me of whom it was.
Like she said, it was a middle-aged man, drunk as could be, dancing on a tabletop.
Knowing I promised I wouldn't do anything harsh, I just simply tapped his shoulder.
His alcohol infested breath continued laughed as he turned to see me.
"What do you want kid?"
"I want you to apologize to a friend of mine for cutting her."
"Oh really? Who?"
I then took a step back to show him I was referring to Kim who stood behind me.
"Aw, little girl ran for help from her little boyfriend? How cute." He snickered as his friends around the table joined in too.
He then ignored us and continued dancing before I pulled his arm, forcing him to turn back to us.
"Hey, you didn't apologize. If you just apologize, we'll leave and let you continue dancing or whatever you're doing."
"Well, I'm not bub so move so this fine lady can join me." He said pushing me to the side as he helped a woman, most likely drunk as well, up onto the table.
I went to go yell at him again when I was stopped by a small yet firm hand that gripped my forearm.
I turned around to see Kim who then told me "Don't Jack. Let's just go and collect our pay. It's been two hours like we agreed for. Let's go collect out money then go to the train station."
Through all that just happened, I knew she was right.
It was no use.
He was just too drunk to even think straight, that's his problem.
After giving him one last look, I nodded in agreement before saying "Let's go."
Just as we took a few paces in the opposite direction, I heard a voice yell out over the others.
"Aw, the little girly girl and her boyfriend are leaving. Cute huh guys?" he laughed as he sneered once again at us.
As soon as I heard his voice, my arm instantly tensed and I felt Kim's grip on me tighten.
"Jack, ignore him." Kim said looking me dead in the eye, hope in her eyes as I knew she wanted to just leave this place.
After I exhaled deeply, I took another step only to have a beer bottle fly between Kim and I's heads.
That guy drew the wrong straw today.
Prying out of Kim grip, I ran up to the man who swayed side to side, laughing as he watched the waitress pick up the bottle.
As soon as I came close enough so I was about five feet away from him, I was blocked by the guys around the table who instantly stood up, standing tall in front of me as I stared them all down.
Well, more like up but still...
"I would recommend you leave now boy." One muttered as I clenched my fists until they turned snow white.
Because I didn't move, the man in front of me then said "You asked for it." before throwing a punch towards my face.
I easily blocked it as I now had to defend myself from all the attacks that the four men threw my way.
Kim's POV
I knew how badly Jack wanted to kill the man, but we both knew it was for the best if we just left.
Before Jack went to go back and argue with the man once again, I stopped him.
He turned around and I told him "Don't Jack. Let's just go and collect our pay. It's been two hours like we agreed for. Let's go collect out money then go to the train station."
Through all that just happened, he knew I was right and that it was no use.
After giving him one last look, Jack nodded in agreement before saying "Let's go."
Just then we left in the other direction and just after we took a few steps, we both heard the drunken man's voice yell over the others.
"Aw, the little girly girl and her boyfriend are leaving. Cute huh guys?" he laughed, sneering at us once again.
The second I heard his voice, my arm instantly tensed around Jack's arm, hoping he would get my signal.
When I saw that he was tempted to kick his butt, I simply made him face me and said "Jack, ignore him."
He exhaled deeply before he listened to me.
We both turned back around and took another step only to have a beer bottle fly between our heads.
I knew at that moment Jack would lose it.
Though I tried to keep a grip on him, he forcefully ripped his arms out of my free hand and made his way towards him.
The moment he came close enough to the drunk man, he was surrounded by the guys previously around the table who instantly stood up around him.
Over the loud noise and music, I couldn't hear the quick discussion Jack and one of his bodyguards had said, but before I could step in and do something, the guard threw a punch aimed for Jack.
Though he blocked it without any effort, the other three men along with the first attacker began throwing assaults from all sides.
He had managed to hold his own for a while before I made the mistake of letting my weak hand get to me.
The drunken man from the table jumped over the fight below him and made his way to me.
I knew I was more vulnerable with my hand so I decided to press my luck and try to get out of the place.
I slowly began to back up and sped up as he continued to follow me.
A smirk then spread across his face as I continued to back up, confused as to why he was smiling until I found out not even a second later.
I felt both of my arms be pulled behind me into an arm lock as I kicked my attacker in the shin several times.
Though he stumbled a few times, he continued to hold me in his grip as the drunken man approached me.
Knowing there was nothing else I could really do, I did the only other option.
I yelled out over "Jack!" just loud enough for him to hear.
Though did I know in that single moment it took him to turn around, he would be hit in the back of the head with a beer bottle, making him collapse to the floor.
Even though he was nearly knocked out, he strained himself by looking up at me, using his remaining strength to pull himself towards me.
We both knew it was no use.
Jack was then completely knocked out a split second later after he was kicked in the head.
I felt some tears stream down from my eyes as I watched my best friend get pummeled by the thugs.
This was all because of me.
My heart told me it was my fault while my mind told me it was his for going up to the guy.
The problem was I was now trapped in a strangers grip while Jack lied there on the ground, bleeding as I didn't know who to give the blame to.
Me?
Jack?
If not one of us, who?