AN: Hi all my loyal readers:) I'm so sorry that it took me so long to update... I've been really busy, but I will never give up on this story, so don't worry.

Thank you so much PersonNatalie, TeddyBear98, MrsCharlieAckles, ADayWithNoLaughterIsADayWast ed, hgirl, aligning street lights, Guest, StupidlyGenius, Guest, 10pandarule10, krc93, Tomboy03, StripedFuzzySocks, 88Keys, Owltreegirl, Kickthedestroyer, 1379, WatchTheMemoriesFade, LiV3-Lau9h-L0v3, Dreaming2BAWriter, Guest, Alyssa.

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kickin' it.

Chapter 19

Escaping

Jack's pov.

Mark had looked really stressed when he had taken one last glance at me before heading out the door. He hadn't given me any answer to why he'd killed Kim, instead he had acted all nervous and hurried of, leaving me all alone again. I hadn't dared to say anything, knowing that if I uttered one wrong word at the wrong time, Alan would show up almost instantly. He might do anyway… What if Alan would be the one to come back?

I shuddered at the thought. Could I take one more of his violent outbursts? I was already so bruised and battered that every move I made hurt to some extent.

Looking down at Kim's cardigan, I tried to swallow down the lump in my throat. It felt unreal that it was only last night that I'd held her in my arms. She had been so close and so full of life…and now…now she was gone. Gone forever. I covered my face with my hands. How would I ever be able to live again?

To be stuck here with a psychopathic maniac was hard enough, but losing her was more than I could take.

"Oh Kim," I whispered, feeling as if she somehow could hear me. "I don't know what to do."

Well I knew that I needed to get out of here, I just didn't know how.

Deciding that it would be no use to just sit around and wait for Mark to get back, I might as well try to find a possible way to escape.

I managed to stand up without taking too much effort, before taking a look around. Knowing that Mark had the keys to the handcuffs that trapped my hands and feet, I didn't waste any time to go and look for it. Instead I concentrated on finding a way to get out of this cabin.

Even though I knew that the door was locked I still felt the need to at least try to open it. But just as I had predicted it didn't work. I turned around and scanned the room. The only other way out would be through a window and this place had three. I didn't manage to open any of them though as they'd been bolted shut from the outside. Mark had obviously made sure that I wasn't gonna be able to leave that easily.

This left me with only one option- to break a window. I would probably not be able to do it without some sort of tool though, not in the condition I was in. Besides I didn't feel like getting cut by the glass that would most likely shatter. At first I thought about using a chair, but I wasn't sure that they would be strong enough, since they looked kind of rickety. Searching for anything that I could use, I spotted the frying pan that Mark had used earlier. I grabbed it with both hands and went over to the nearest window, which happened to be the one behind the kitchen table. Taking a quick peek through it, I made sure that the ground was safe to land on and also that Mark hadn't come back. I hesitated slightly. What if he was on his way back and he saw me just as I was about to leave? I didn't know how much time I had to make my escape. Would there be enough? Or what if the window wouldn't break and he found out what I'd been trying to do? That most likely would bring out Alan and God knows what he'll do to me then…

I didn't know when I was gonna get a chance like this again though, and if I'd stay I would sooner or later come face to face with Alan anyway. The thought made me make up my mind quickly and I swung the frying pan against the glass. The window cracked immediately from the impact. A sudden hope filled me, my freedom so close now, I could almost feel it. I lifted the pan once more and with a newfound strength I smashed the window for a second time. This time it completely shattered and fell apart. Using the frying pan, I swiped lingering pieces of glass off the ledge.

I went over and grabbed Kim's sweater. There's no way I would leave that behind. The painful truth washed upon me again as I clutched the soft fabric in my hands. I tried to block it out though and focusing on my escape instead.

I didn't know how much time I had until Mark would come back, all I knew was that if he came back now, he would catch me red handed… and I didn't even wanna think about what he might do then.

Feeling a little stressed I took one long step. Hitting the end of the chain, I stumbled, almost falling to the floor. Somehow I managed to stay on my feet though. Cursing slightly at the cuffs I continued towards the window, walking more carefully.

Now to the tricky part -to actually make it through the window. At first I thought about doing some kind of flip out, but decided against it, since just walking was hard enough.

I sat down on the ledge and somehow managed to swing my feet over to the other side. It wasn't an easy task with the chains restricting my movements. Clutching the sweater, I jumped. A shock of pain went through my sore body as my feet hit the ground, causing me to groan. I stood up straight and looked around. I had absolutely no idea of where I was. There were just trees that to me looked the same in all directions.

There was a path though barely big enough for a car to travel on it. It didn't take me long to figure that that was the way we'd come from last night. In other words, the path would lead me back to civilization. Problem was though that Mark must've gone that way and the chances of meeting him on his way back were pretty big. But I couldn't just walk blindly right out in the forest either.

Deciding that the best option would be to follow the path but at the same time stay hidden from it, I started to make my way through the bushes, careful not to lose sight of the trail…

I stumbled across the uneven terrain, pushing away branches and such with my arms, although new ones seemed to constantly appear, scratching my face and body. At more than one point I had lost track of the path, but after some minor panic attack and some searching I had managed to find it again. Several hours had passed as a result though. I hurried up a little, not wanting to be in the middle of the forest when night comes.

Suddenly I heard what sounded like an engine. My head shot up, looking towards the source of the sound. In between the trees a car appeared, heading in the opposite direction I was going. It only took a second for me to react and throw myself behind a nearby tree trunk, but I still feared that he had seen me. Pressing my back against the trunk, I hugged Kim's sweater as if that was the thing that would keep me safe. I listen anxiously as the car slowed down. He must have noticed me. Why would he otherwise slow down?

But to my surprise I heard the sound of the car disappearing in the distance. When I was sure it was gone, I let out the breath I'd been holding and relaxed my body against the trunk. I was shaking and I needed a moment to calm down before I was able to continue. Realizing that Mark would soon be at the cabin, which meant that he would realize I was gone, so I tried to move as quickly as possible, knowing that he would soon be looking for me.

It had gone almost fifteen minutes since I saw the car and I was starting to get really tired after walking for hours. As a result my legs were feeling like they were made out of led, which caused me to slow down my pace. That was until I heard the car coming back from the cabin at a full-throttle. I quickly made it behind a huge rock, as the car came to a stop, not far from where I was hiding.

In the rush to get out of sight I had fallen to my side, squashing my injured arm. I had to bite my lip to keep me from crying out. Afraid that he would hear or see me if I moved too much, I stayed lying on the ground.

Pulling my knees to my chest, I tried to make myself as small as possible. Preferably so small that I would be impossible to see... I heard the car door open and someone stepping out as I took one deep breath to pull myself together enough to think and act if needed.

"Jack! I know you're here somewhere!" He shouted suddenly through the forest, making every muscle in my body tense. "You must be hungry and cold. Why don't you come out and I'll take you back to the cabin." He was walking around now, occasionally breaking a stick as his feet set on the ground. "I won't hurt you!"

'Yeah right' I thought as I held my breath, listening to every move he made. My body was frozen to the spot and my heart was pounding so hard that I was afraid he might hear it.

"Jack!" He called again, further away from me now. I silently prayed that he would walk back to his car and drive off, in the hopes of finding me somewhere else. "Jack! You can't hide forever!" He sounded more frustrated and angrier for every minute, causing my fear of being caught to grow.

I pressed Kim's sweater to my face, afraid that the sound of my breaths would blow my cover otherwise. Her scent filled my nostrils as I closed my eyes, letting myself disappear from the outside world for only a few seconds. Seeing Kim's bright face before my eyes, I squeezed the cardigan even harder.

I opened my eyes again, as I listened. The forest looked so peaceful and it had a calming influence on me. A cool breeze passed by, making me shiver slightly, even though I really tried hard to stay absolutely still.

It seemed as if the man I feared had walked off as I wasn't able to hear him anymore. I stayed put though, not willing to take any risks.

Rhythmically rubbing the soft garment I was holding with my thumb, I waited for it to be safe for me to continue. I hadn't heard the car driving away, so I figured it must still be parked here, which meant that he couldn't be that far away and he most likely would come back to pick it up. A few more minutes went by without any sounds of him and I was able to relax a little, my pulse slowing down as I took another deep breath, inhaling Kim's scent.

I barely noticed the shadow that appeared next to my feet, before I heard the deep voice from my nightmares.

"Doesn't she smell lovely?" Alan grinned, making me jump out of my skin. My heart racing, as I started to get up on my feet. But halfway up, I fell back down on the ground. Panicking I flopped and twisted in an attempt to get away from the vicious man. When it didn't work I looked towards my feet just to realize that he was standing on the chain that went between my ankles.

"Why in such a hurry?" He asked, meeting my gaze. A giant smile was upon his face, as he watched in amusement my desperate attempts to get away from him. I didn't answer his stupid question; instead I sat up and reached for him, trying to get him off the chain somehow. He kicked at my head, still keeping his other foot on the chain, but I managed to block it with my arms. With a swing of his arm he forced his fist towards my face from above. I barely registered it, but thankfully my body reacted quickly and my arms stopped him from hitting my face. Assuming that he would go for another punch I kept my arms up in a defensive way. Much to my surprise though, he grabbed the chain he was standing on and jerked it right up, causing me to fall over backwards as my feet now hung in the air.

"Let me go!" I kicked frantically at him to make him lose his grip, but being in the position I was, it was almost impossible to get any power into the kicks. Alan started to pull on the chain, dragging me in the direction of the vehicle. "No! Please." I twisted and turned onto my stomach, desperately grabbing hold of anything that was within my reach with my unharmed arm, but everything seemed to slip out of my hand. The few branches I was able to grab broke or were to light and were just pulled along with us. Tears started to well up in my eyes as the car came into view.

"Please!" I dug my fingers into the dirt, even though I knew that it wouldn't work. "Let me go! Please."

He didn't listen to me, (not that I really expected him to) instead he dragged me over to the car. I could tell that he had to struggle quite a lot, since he breathed heavily and beads of sweat were showing on his forehead. I was exhausted too, after walking around for hours and the last struggle had left me drained from energy.

"Please…"

Once at the car Alan let go of me to open the back door. My legs fell to the ground. I saw my chance and began to stand up in an attempt to make a run for it. I needed to get away from him. I had barely gotten to my feet when I heard what sounded like rattling of chains though. The moment after a striking pain shot across my back, sending me back down onto my hands and knees.

"It's kind of rude to run away like that, don't you think?" Alan said, taking a couple of steps forward so that he was standing next to me. I kept my eyes on the ground as the pain spread, causing me to tremble. In the corner of my eye I could see the heavy chain that he must've used to hit me with, dangling from his right hand. He bent down and took a hold of my shoulder. I instinctively tried to shake his hand off and crawl away from him. "Didn't you hear what I just said?" He grunted irritated. The chain disappeared from my sight and was soon crashing down my back again, full force. My arms and legs collapsed underneath me as I cried out in agony. Lying on the ground I twisted and turned, trying to escape the overwhelming pain. Moaning I clutched Kim's cardigan hard. My breath coming out short and hard as I squeezed my eyes shut. It hurt so bad, it was impossible to think of anything else.

I didn't notice as Alan loped the end of his chain, which had a ring attached to it, around the small chain on the handcuffs that held my wrists. He then took the other end of the long chain and pulled it through the ring, securing it to the cuffs.

The pain soon decreased a little, allowing me to be aware of what was going on again.

Alan started to pull me along by the chain, towards the back of the car. I did my best to pull back though, digging my heels into the ground, a tear escaping my eye as he was winning little by little.

"Please." I begged, slipping closer to the car.

"I can't believe you dared to run away, after everything Mark has done for you." Alan muttered, standing behind the car now.

I frowned confused. Mark hadn't done anything for me more than causing me pain.

"…or perhaps you just enjoy going for walks in the wilderness. In that case; this is your lucky day." He smirked.

I barely had time to register what he meant by that, before he forcefully jerked me forward. Landing flat on my stomach, I gasped for air, my arms and shoulders aching from the sudden tug.

Alan quickly wrapt his end of the chain around the towing hitch and secured it with a screw gate carabiner, leaving me about six feet of the chain to move around in. Giving me one last quick glance he noticed the cardigan I was still holding.

"I'll take care of that for you." He smirked and wrenched it out of my hands.

"No please…" I did an attempt to reach for it but he quickly turned and walked over to the driver's seat.

"If I were you I'd get to my feet. I won't stop and wait for you, so you better keep up." He said before shutting the car door.

Realizing what he was about to do, I hurried to my feet. It hurt to move that quickly but I pushed through it, knowing that lying on the ground when he started driving wouldn't be too pleasant. My legs were barely holding me up though. Hoping that I would have enough energy and strength left to make it all the way back to the cabin, I swallowed back the lump in my throat. I was worried that he might drive off like crazy, making it impossible for me to keep up. The fact that I had no other choice than to walk back into captivity made my eyes tear up again. I had been so close of getting my freedom back.

Caught up in my thoughts, I didn't notice as the car began to roll forward. The slack in the chain was soon gone and I was pulled forward. I stumbled a little, giving myself a real scare. Falling to the ground wouldn't be a good thing in my situation.

I concentrated on the car while every now and then glancing down at the ground to prevent me from tripping as we made our way back to the cabin… and back to my perdition. At least that's how I felt.

Thankfully Alan had been driving slowly the whole way and it had been pretty easy for me to keep up, even though I was really tired… That was until the cabin came into view…

The car speeded up suddenly. Unable to run in my restrains I fell almost instantly. It felt as if my arms were going to be ripped off at any second as I was pulled along by the still accelerating vehicle. The friction from being dragged across the ground ripped my clothes and scratched my knees and torso. I shut my eyes hard, as the dirt came flying all around me. A sudden pain shot through my elbow as it crashed into a rock. I could feel a warm tickling feeling as the blood coming from it slowly made its way down towards my shoulder.

Roots and rocks constantly bruised my body as I bumped over them. The tears were falling from my eyes and I struggled to breathe. It felt like an eternity before the car finally slowed down to a stop.

I lay on the ground, shaking and panting, not being able to decide which part of my body hurt the most. Crying silently, I went all internal from the shock, barely noticing Alan taking the chain off the towing hitch, allowing my arms to fall to the ground. Not being able to move through the pain, I wondered if any of the injuries would be serious enough for me to die from them. It sure felt like it…

I was grateful for the few minutes I was allowed to just lay there. But they ended all too quickly as Alan began to pull on the chain again.

"Please…" I choked out in between the sobs; the pain throbbing through my sore body as he moved me was so strong it made me nauseous. "…don't…" I twisted and turned to find a way to ease the pain. Soon I was on my back. I don't know if it was any better but at least my sore knees and torso were getting a break.

Alan kept on pulling, determined to get me inside. When we reached the few steps leading up to the mini porch he stopped for a moment just to grab a hold of my arms to lift me up the stairs. I pushed myself up towards the door with my feet. There was no way I would be able to get away at that moment anyway, so I might as well be cooperative and save me some meaningless pain.

Well inside he dropped me on the floor in the middle of the room. I curled up, trying to shield myself from the outside world. Through the tears that flooded my eyes I saw the broken window from which I had just hours before made my escape through. It had seemed like a good idea back then, but now I regretted even thinking about running away. It had led me nowhere; I was still at the same place with the same monster of a man. All I had done was giving him an excuse to hurt me…and hurt me he had…

I sniffed, eyeing the cuffs around my wrists. They had cut into my skin even more under the rough ride, causing it to bleed at some places. Wiping some tears away I tried to pull myself together. Crying like this wasn't going to help me, I knew that. But I was so scared and hurt that it was almost impossible to stop.

Alan had walked outside, but I could still hear him easily through the broken window. It sounded as if he was out in the small shed. Worry started to spread in me. What was he doing? Was he planning on hurting me even more?

I moved a little so that I would get a better view at the door, not wanting him to sneak up on me with anything…

A couple of minutes past before Alan showed up again. He had a hammer in his right hand and some kind of box in his other. All I saw was the hammer though. Cringing, I started to shake, almost certain he would beat me with it. To my relief though, he went past me and headed to the broken window.

Realizing that he was about to repair it, I let myself relax a little. Still keeping a watchful eye on him though, as he went back and forth a few times before he had all the supplies he needed to make a temporarily repair. I lay as still as possible as he cleaned up the scattered pieces of glass and started to work. Maybe if I didn't move, he would leave me alone.

It took him almost an hour to get it done. He had basically just covered the hole in the wall with boards so that the wind wouldn't blow through it. Hoping that he'd turned back to Mark during the work, I studied him.

He seemed satisfied with the result and turned his attention to me. I quickly broke the eye contact by looking down at the floor. Without hesitation he walked up to me and squatted beside me. Please be Mark… I can't take more beating…

"You know kid…" He started, sounding as if he was in a pretty good mood. "…I made Mark a promise earlier." I felt my heart sink, realizing he was still Alan. "You see, Mark got rather upset when he noticed that you were gone. I don't really care about having you around. Heck, if I'd be in charge I would have ended you long ago. "He chuckled. I didn't see what was so funny though. "Anyhow… I'm here for Mark's sake and he really wants to keep you alive so… He's also afraid that someone will find us. That's why we can't let you leave." I listened carefully, still not daring to look up at him. "I promised that I would find you and bring you back. That I have done. But I also promised that I was gonna make sure that this will never happen again." I swallowed, shooting him a worried glance, before looking down again. "So I need you to promise me Jack Brewer that you'll never run away again." I was a little confused. Was that all he was gonna make me do? I'd never heard him use a so friendly tone while talking to me before. Whether that was a good thing or not, I couldn't tell though.

I was forced to leave my thoughts behind and come back to reality as Alan had lost his patient with me not giving him any answer and taken a steady hold of my jaw. He lifted my head up and turned it slightly so that he could look me in the eye.

"Jack, are you ever going to try to run away again?" He asked me, his glare intimidated me so much, it was hard to speak.

"N-no" I answered, too scared to say anything else.

"Do you promise?"

"Yes…" He let go of me and started to undo the chain he'd been using to drag me around with, from the handcuffs. Chuckling to himself, he shook his head slightly.

"You're lying." He stated simply, before reaching down to my feet.

"No…" My voice was barely audible since I wanted to defend myself, but I didn't have the courage to really speak up and I also wasn't sure if I was telling the truth. At that moment I would never dream about escaping, but I also knew that I couldn't stay here forever. So maybe he was right, maybe I was lying…

Suddenly he grabbed my leg and forced it next to my other.

"What are you doing?" I asked worriedly, raising my head to get a better view of him.

"Just making it easier for you to keep your promise." He said about to wrap the chain around my legs. Realizing what he was trying to do, I started kicking, ignoring the pain it caused. His head whipped around as he gave me a glare.

"Have you learned nothing!?" Anger and irritation were clearly shown in his voice, as he almost threw himself at me. Placing one foot on my hand, squashing it against the floor, he took hold of my hair right above my ear and with a forceful jerk he pulled my head as high up it would go from my lying position, before slamming it sideways back down against the floor. He had moved very fast. I barely registered what happened before the room had started to spin. The pain pounding through my head made the nausea return.

Alan was still holding a firm grip of my hair as he pressed my head against the wooden surface. My eyes began to water again, feeling the blood slowly slide down my face. How come I wasn't able to do anything to stop him from hurting me?

"Now, if you don't hold still, I will have to go to plan b and trust me you don't want me to do that." He hissed before releasing me. I just lay there, frozen with fear as he took hold of my legs again. Holding them in place by putting his knee upon them and using his weight to push them down, he took off the cuffs and started to wrap the chain around my ankles tightly. He finished by securing it with the same carabiner he'd used earlier, leaving me absolutely no room to part my legs from each other.

Alan stood up and went over to his toolbox. The tears had started to fall from my eyes again, as I watched with worry how he picked up a screwdriver and some other small items that I really couldn't make out what they were, before he placed them in his pocket. What was he doing? Or more importantly what was he gonna do?

Multiple horrible scenarios flashed before my eyes, causing my fear to grow. He walked past me though and up to the spot next to the bed, where I had spent most of my time in here. I tilted my head slightly upwards to have better look at him. He was squatting with his back facing me, so I couldn't really tell what he was doing.

Once he'd finished he stood up, giving me a clear view of the hitching ring he'd placed on the wall, about five inches above the floor.

I had a hunch about what was coming, but I was still startled as Alan grabbed me by the handcuffs and dragged me across the floor.

"No, please. " The pain in my arms came back with full force, feeling as if they would snap. "Please." I begged, desperately trying to pull away from him. He dragged me until my body was parallel with the bed before fastening the handcuffs to the hitching ring with a padlock. I instinctively pulled against it, trying to free myself but to no use.

Alan stepped over my body, kicking me in the side while doing so -probably on purpose- before going over to the kitchen area to prepare dinner for himself. I rolled over to my side, facing the room and curled up. Hands being held above my head, I buried my face in my arms and cried, feeling like all hope was lost. Would I ever be able to make it out of here?

OK that's all for now... Sorry to all of you that hoped Jack would make it... But this story ain't over yet...

Please don't forget to review. ( You'll get a sneak peek, if you do;)

/MJ