Jumper: Cent's Story

I am terribly sorry for the wait again. I've been having writer's block big time for the last few weeks. I hope I can get it under control. Terribly sorry for the wait.

The final battle between John and Shaw begins! The moment we all have been waiting for! Who will win? Who will die? Because someone isn't walking out of that warehouse alive! I just love building the excitement up to moments like this. Nothing can beat an old fashion one-on-one fight. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. :)

John and Travis face off in a final battle that has been building for years. Cent is forced to watch as the man she loves fights for her and his life. Meanwhile, a new, unexpected twist will change everything for Cent and John.

Here is chapter twenty-eight! Please read and enjoy! ;)

Chapter Twenty-Eight:

Life and Death

John:

Everything was like slow motion for John as he appeared under the light post in the middle of the street of the pier. Time itself seemed to just move very slowly. The wind was blew a chill across John's spine, but he didn't notice. He didn't even take notice of the noise that was coming from the cargo ships and semis in the background of the pier. Nothing that was happening at the moment seemed to matter at all.

Looking ahead, John saw the warehouse where Cent was being held captive by Shaw.

His heart rate increased. He couldn't help but feel the fear of imagining Shaw holding Cent and possibly torturing her. But just as that same fear came, it was quickly replaced by anger. Anger that has been inside John's heart since the day his parents were murdered in front of him. The same anger that taught him to survive on his own. The same anger that kept him in the shadows and living alone for so many years. The same anger that was now being channeled against Shaw and for his wrong-doings against him.

Taking a step forward, John began walking towards the warehouse. He crossed the street and then began walking across the empty parking lot. Every step that John took felt like a life time. The distance from the door of the warehouse and him felt further away.

John knew about this warehouse. He came across it a few years ago, when he was trying to find a place to live. He remembered the pier very well, but inside the warehouse was like a blur.

Damn you, Shaw! John thought to himself, but desperately wanted to yell it out.

John knew what Shaw was doing. He chose this place because he knew that John would remember the pier in order to get there, but he also knew that he could not remember the warehouse very well either. It prevented John from jumping inside and just taking Cent. Not to mention that the place didn't have much windows to go by. But even if it did have windows, there were rooms that he couldn't see into. Shaw had chosen his battleground very well.

Memories began to fill John's mind. He remembered his good old days with his parents, back when he was just a normal kid. A kid without the ability to jump. A kid who didn't have to worry about being seen jumping or on the run from people who want him dead. He also began to wonder what might have been if he never had the ability to jump. He wondered if his parents and he lived a happy, normal life. Going through high school, college, a career of his choosing, and later marrying and having a couple of kids. He wondered if he and Cent would have met under normal circumstances and somehow managed to be together.

So many memories and theories were running through his mind at once. It felt like he was trying to choose how his life would happen. Except that his life was chosen for him. Shaw killed his parents and sent him on the run for nearly six to seven years of his life. And the sad part about it, John had begun to lose memories of what it was like to live a normal life. He was beginning to forget how important it was to live life to the fullest and be happy. Even his memories of his parents began to fade away. He was losing the memories that should be remembering and remembering the memories that he should forget. He was losing his own humanity in the process of trying to survive against Shaw and the Syndicate. Little by little, he was losing himself to loneliness, paranoia, and nightmares.

But then it all changed when he met Cent.

Like a spark that could start a wild fire, every memory and every knowledge of what it was like to have parents, friends, and to live a normal life had come straight back to John when he met Cent for the first time in his life. He started to remember everything that he was supposed to remember. He was scared at first and also curious towards how one simple girl could change all of that. But then he realized that Cent wasn't just any simple girl. She was the girl!

John knew what he had to do. He knew that one way or another, someone was not walking out of this warehouse alive. This was life and death. He was going to have to kill Shaw in order to walk out of here and truly be free. Syndicate doesn't know much about his existence, so he was going to be safe from them. John didn't want to take a life or use vengeance as an excuse to kill Shaw, but he knew that it was something that his father would do. He knew that despite how much his father would avoid these situations, he would also do what was necessary to do the right thing.

John reached the door of the warehouse and placed his hand on the door handle.

This is it! He told himself.

He twisted the handle and pushed the door open. He entered and closed the door behind him.

Shaw:

Excitement rose inside Shaw as he waited for his greatest adversary to come to him.

He checked up on Cent, making sure she was unconscious and alive. He also made a few more small cuts to ensure that she didn't get the chance to jump. He wanted the chemical to overrun her jumping ability.

Suddenly, he heard one of the doors to the warehouse being opened and he smiled to himself.

He has finally come! he said to himself and pulled out his knife again.

Moving towards the darkness, he put himself in a spot that was almost impossible to see in this giant room. He knew that John would be too busy noticing Cent to look for him. He may hate love, but he loves using love against his opponents. As he waited in the darkness, he felt the excitement rise higher and higher. He was literally shaking now and his mind spinning out of control. He couldn't wait to finally kill John Bale! The one who got away!

Some part of Shaw couldn't help but laugh at how vulnerable John had become over the past couple of weeks. All because of one girl, who managed to capture his heart and soul. Before even Cent came along, John was one badass. Shaw always found it interesting that he never killed and yet was violent when he faced against Syndicate operatives. Back in the day, John had that look in his eyes. The look of a dead soul inside of him. No reason to live or to move on. No reason to remember the important memories but every reason to remember the bad ones. Shaw could tell that John was heading down a road that would turn him into something that very few men were. That was the John Bale that Shaw knew.

But then Cent came into the picture. She made him vulnerable and less interesting to Shaw; except for the part that John had fallen in love and found a reason to live again. It made everything more fun to just take it away from him. But Shaw hated that John was coming back to his old self again. That he was beginning to live again. But Shaw had a plan to knock that path right out of John's way and bring him back into the game again.

Shaw remembered the moment when he killed John's parents' right in front of him. It was the greatest moment of his life. He loved seeing the pain inside John's eyes when he saw it happen. And now, he was going to do it again. He was going to force John to watch Cent die right in front of him and then he will take his precious time with John himself. They had six to seven years of catching up to do.

Shaw could hear John coming closer and closer towards the center of the warehouse. His footsteps were silent but couldn't be completely quiet.

Suddenly, he saw John appear from the hallway and coming straight towards the light.

Getting his knife ready, Shaw prepared himself to strike at John.

Welcome to your doom, John!

John:

The moment John stepped out of the hallway and into the light of the center of the warehouse, he immediately saw Cent in a chair, tied up and unconscious.

His heart rate increased and his heart jumped. He more happy than ever to finally see her alive.

"Cent!" he yelled and jumped towards her.

Suddenly, just as he appeared in front of her, he noticed from the corner of his eye, a dark figure coming out of the darkness of the room and running towards him.

Before John had time to react, he felt the knife slash through his arm and also felt the cold steel of the razor-shaper edges cutting into his skin. Pain shot through him and he realized that the knife was carrying the chemical and was being released inside his arm.

Acting quickly, he made a jump across the room, just before the knife could drive the chemical any further and take full effect. He crashed against the cold floor and quickly put pressure on his wound.

Taking a look at the cut on his arm, he saw that the knife didn't go in too far and that the chemical didn't go all the way like it was supposed to. However, the chemical did do its work to keep John unable to jump for a matter of minutes, maybe an hour.

Suddenly, he heard the dark figure chuckling and footsteps from him as well.

John picked himself up and faced the figured, pulling out his own knife in the process.

John and the figure stared into each other's eyes and studied one another. They stood still where they were, taking in the moment and their surroundings. Two enemies finally coming face to face after so many years. One final showdown!

"Hello, John," the evilness voice of Shaw echoed off the walls.

John smirked and responded, "Shaw!"

Shaw smiled and observed the wound on John's arm. He smiled and said, "Looks like your jumping abilities are out of commission for a little while. No jumping around this time. It's just you and me."

"Then let it just be you and me," John said, preparing himself for any attack that Shaw might throw at him. "Let Cent go and we will finish what we started together. The chemical will prevent me from going anywhere for a while. Cent has no play in this. Let her go."

Shaw chuckled and waved his knife around like as if it was a toy.

"You stupid Jumper!" he yelled. "She is part of this! She is the reason that you have been acting all weird for a while now. I want you to watch as I kill her. When she awakens, I will drive this knife into his heart and you will watch as she dies before your eyes. Just like I did to your parents."

"DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK OF THEM!" John roared. His anger at its peak now. His heart, soul, and eyes were filled with hatred and vengeance.

Shaw saw this and smiled.

"There he is," he exclaimed. "There's the man I've been trying to bring outside of you for a while now. The killer side of you. The type of person I have seen since the day we first met. I saw the anger, the hatred, and the potential to become like me-"

"I'm nothing like you!" John interrupted, pointing the knife directly at Shaw. "You kill for pleasure and for fun. I never once killed anybody, and even if I did, it would be for good reason."

"Oh, come on!" Shaw yelled in excitement. "We both know that you have wanted to kill me ever since I murdered your parents. I saw it in your eyes. The need for vengeance. You only try to hold it at bay. You try to keep yourself from crossing the line and you tell yourself that you don't want to. But deep, deep down, you know that you want to." He smiled again. "So do it! Come and take your vengeance! See if it eases your pain!"

John felt his heart drop as he listened to the words from his greatest enemy. He somehow feel that Shaw was right. He does want vengeance. He has tried to say otherwise and think otherwise, but deep down, he does want vengeance. He always has.

Shaking his head, John responds, "True. I do want vengeance. But it isn't what I want that makes me who I am. It is what I do that does. My actions say otherwise. I'm nothing like you. Nothing. We are different. You're a killer. I have never taken a life before."

"Oh, don't worry," Shaw winked. "I'll make sure you either die or kill to survive. In the end, people always pick survival."

"Only because they defend themselves and kill if they have to," John countered. "I will kill you if I have to, but I won't if I don't have to. My father would have done the same."

"He didn't put up much of a fight when I killed him," Shaw said a harsh and teasing voice, half-smirking.

A tear appeared from one of John's eyes and felt his body shaking from the anger and the sadness that was rushing through his body.

"Tell me something John," Shaw walked forward a little bit. "What is it like to be a curse?"

John narrowed his eyes at him, confused.

"What is like to be a curse to those you love?" Shaw smiled. "I mean, you have the greatest gift in the world and yet, you always seem to be a curse too." He paused. "I mean, everyone you love dies when they are with you. Your parents. That Jumper friend of yours from Las Vegas. And finally, we have poor, innocent Cent Rice. Like the ability that you have, you are a curse to everyone you love, John! Pain, death, and suffering follow you everywhere you go. You will never be able to escape it. That's all you are John. A curse!"

Shaw's words stuck John hard as if they were baseballs or knives. He couldn't help but somehow agree with him. All of his memories of his parents came back in a second. He remembered his beautiful mother and his hardworking dad. The only family he had in his life. He remembered how life for him was normal and things weren't so different. But then things changed when he got the ability to jump. Even his own mother was scared of him for a little while, but somehow she managed to accept it and still love him as he was. But in the end, his parents were killed and he was alone. Now Cent was suffering the same fate.

Before John saw it coming, Shaw flipped the knife in his hand, holding the knife at the edge, he threw it directly at John.

Moving fast, John dodged and felt the knife missing him by mini-inches. He felt the blade go right pass him and hit the wall.

From the corner of John's eye, he saw Shaw running towards him and ramming his shoulder into his side, sending him hard to the ground. Shaw managed to flip him on his back, prepared to throw his entire weight on him.

Sensing what Shaw had planned, John brought his knees towards his chin, almost curled up as a ball. He positioned his legs and feet at Shaw, and with all of his strength, he launched his legs forward and into the chest of Shaw, sending him backwards and flying off the floor. John felt the pressure of legs hitting Shaw's chest and felt pain rushing through them.

Shaw crashed and slid against the ground, groaning in pain.

Taking the opportunity, John forced himself up and took picked up his knife. He ran at Shaw, preparing to stab him.

Without seeing it coming, Shaw brought his legs back and pressed threw them forward into the air, next he brought hands were above his head and pressed against the floor, and then used the strength of his back to throw his entire body upward. He came up and landed on his feet. With the force of his kick, he knocked the knife out of John's hands and engaged in a hand-to-hand combat fight with him.

John trained at a karate class, but his training and skills were nothing compared to what Shaw was getting from Syndicate.

Creating fists out of his hands, he got in a defensive position and waited for Shaw to make the first move.

Shaw faked a punch and brought his leg forward, aiming at John's stomach.

Seeing it coming, John barely dodged and brought his fist into the jaw of Shaw. He heard a loud crack and delivered another punch into his stomach. But he failed to see the on-coming elbow to the top of his head from Shaw and quickly started to lose vision.

Suddenly, John felt Shaw get him into a headlock and was forced to fall to his knees from the pressure of Shaw's kick to behind his knees.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you yet," Shaw whispered into John's ear. "You'll awaken to find me stabbing your pretty little girlfriend and then I will kill you."

John tried to elbow Shaw, but couldn't aim far enough back and Shaw had him a great position. He was losing oxygen and consciousness by the second. In a few more seconds, he will pass out.

Cent:

Cent didn't know much on what was going on, but she could hear fighting in the background of her dreamless dream. When she finally managed to open her eyes, her vision was blurry and her body felt numb. Her hearing was a little weird and could only hear the sound of punching, kicking, and moaning.

Finally, her entire hearing and vision came back after a few seconds and shook her head, trying to take in her surroundings.

Suddenly her eyes widened at the sight on John being in a headlock by Shaw.

"NO!" she screamed and struggled to free herself from the chair. "Leave my John alone!" she screamed at Shaw.

Cent saw something right next to where her chair was and looked down. A knife was only a foot away from where she was.

Getting an idea, she began to rock herself, back and forth, trying to aim where the knife was. Finally, gained enough momentum to make the chair fall. Cent's body ached as the chair fell to the ground, sending a little bit of pain through her side. Focusing on the knife, she reached for it and was able to use the tips of her fingers to pull the knife towards her.

Once the knife was in her hand, she begins to cut through the tape, trying to hurry.

Hurry up girl! Cent told herself. John needs you!

John:

Very close to passing out, John thought he heard Cent's voice in the background. Whether it was a hallucination or not, the sound of her voice suddenly gave him power again. He felt some of his strength return and with all of his strength, he managed to move one of his legs off his knee and position his foot on the ground.

Shaw tightened his grip and pressed his weight into John, trying to make him collapse.

Fueled by anger, John struggled against Shaw some more and realized that Shaw's right side is vulnerable now. Bringing his elbow into Shaw's ribs, he heard a few cracks and felt Shaw's grip loose for a split-second.

Taking advantage, John used Shaw's weight against him and grabbed him by his arms, bringing him over his shoulder and onto the ground.

Ignoring the pain in his back, Shaw grabbed John by the foot, just as he John was trying to back away, and forced him to trip on his back. Forcing himself up, Shaw stood over John, trapping his arms with his feet, putting his weight on them.

With his body in huge pain, vision blurry, and arms and legs useless at the moment, John was trapped.

Looking up at Shaw, John saw anger in his eyes and his teeth were clashing hard together.

"You know what?!" Shaw yelled as he reached into side of his shoe and pulled out another blade. "I've just had enough! I think I will kill you right now! Just know that your little girlfriend is next! So get ready to see more of her in the afterlife!"

John's eyes widened as Shaw raised the knife with both of his hands, prepared to stab him in the heart.

Cent:

It took longer than she suspected, but Cent was able to cut through the tape and free her hand. It wasn't long to get her other hand and legs free as well.

Once she was out of the chair and on her feet, she saw Shaw standing over John, trapping him. But when she saw him raise the knife that was when she rushed forward and prepared to ram herself into Shaw, praying that she will make it in time.

Time seemed to go in slow motion as she sprinted with all of her might. Tears running down her cheeks and her heart pounding like thunder.

Shaw:

Shaw couldn't believe that it was finally happening. He was standing over John Bale himself and had him trapped. He had the knife in his hands and fully ready to drive it into his heart. He couldn't wait to see John's eyes when the knife cuts through his skin and heart, and finally see the look in his eyes when he finally dies from the wound. It all seemed all so too good to be true.

As he held the knife in the aim and getting ready to bring the knife down on John, he felt time slow down, and his anger was replaced by excitement for what was going to happen next.

Suddenly, he felt pain on his left side and he felt himself falling to the ground. The knife fell from his hands and he crashed against the ground. His mind was spinning and wondering what had happened.

Feeling that someone was on him, he looked up to see Cent getting off of him and preparing to run towards John.

Anger returned and he reached out, grabbing her by the foot and forcing her to fall to the ground. Flipping her on her back, he got on top and grabbed the collar of her shirt. He brought his face inches from hers and breathed hard with anger.

"You ruined everything!" he screamed at her. "Now you die!"

Reaching into the back of his other shoe, he pulled out a second knife and forced the knife against Cent's throat, preparing to cut her.

John:

John had seen Cent ramming to Shaw and driving them into the ground away from him. Allowing himself to recover as much as he can, he saw the knife that Shaw had dropped and grabbed it with his right hand. Forcing himself up and ignoring the pain, he saw Shaw getting on top of Cent and putting the knife against her throat.

Anger rushed through him and he sprint forward, getting the knife in a better grip with his hand.

Without warning, he used his other hand to grab Shaw by the back of the shirt and yank him off of Cent and throw him back against the ground.

Not even taking a breath, John readied the knife in his hand and again, sprints forward. He knew what Shaw was going to do and was counting on it.

Shaw threw himself back up and ran towards John.

Acting on instinct, John brought his hand, with the knife forward and drove it into the chest of the on-coming Shaw, directly into his heart.

Shaw's eyes widened and he looked into John's eyes. He smiled and began to laugh.

John let go of the knife and backed away, tears coming down his cheeks, his body shaking, and his heart racing. As much as he hated and wanted Shaw to die, taking in the fact that he had just stabbed him in the chest was very hard to take in at the moment. He breathed hard and struggled to keep himself from falling to his knees.

Blood came out of Shaw's mouth and his breathing became loud and hard, which made his laughing hard to handle.

"Well played, John," he barely spoke. "You finally did what I've said would happen. Either die or kill to survive. Looks like you finally killed for the first time."

More blood came out of his mouth and his legs were beginning to give out.

With his final words, Shaw said, "I told you that you would end up like me. All alone and cursed." He paused and then said for the last time, "See you in hell, John..."

Shaw's body fell backwards against the ground and remained still where he was. Travis Shaw was dead!

John allowed the tears to come and fell to his knees, sobbing.

Killing Shaw wasn't what saddened him; it was the fact that he has killed someone that was getting to him. Nearly seven years after being on the run and not even killing on Syndicate operative, John had finally killed the one man who killed his parents and left him alone in this world. John never wanted to kill anyone in his life and still didn't want to. But now he was beginning to feel nothing but anger and happiness that Shaw was dead. And that was beginning to scary him.

Suddenly, he felt a pair of arms go around his chest and felt someone breathing behind him. The same pair of arms tightened their grip around him and felt lips kissing the side of his cheek. Lifting up his hand and stroking the cheek of the person behind him and then resting it on top of the person's hand, he began to sob some more.

"John... I'm so sorry that you had to do that..."

The sound of Cent's voice made him feel a little bit better, but the pain and fear was still there.

"You did what you had to do," Cent whispered again. "If you hadn't he would have killed you... and me as well."

John closed his eyes as hard as he could and then opened them, with more tears.

"He's right...," John sniffled. "I'm a curse. All I ever bring is death and suffering to everyone I love. My parents are dead because of me and you almost died because I couldn't listen what my mind was telling me to do. The first time I met you, I knew that I would bring only trouble, but I was curious and I wanted to know you more. I fell in love with you and I ended up endangering you in the process. My feelings make me weak..."

"No, they don't!" Cent came around and faced him, holding both sides of his face with her hands. She got to her knees and said, "You aren't a curse, John. You are a victim of what Shaw and Syndicate have done to you. Your feelings make you strong! They make you who you are! Our love for each other save you from becoming like Shaw and it also saved me from believing that could never have a relationship or fall in love. You aren't at fault for what happened to your parents or to me. Shaw is! And now, he is dead and punished for what he has done." She paused and stroked John's face and hair, wiping away the tears. "You aren't him. You have the kindest heart and you are one of the greatest boyfriends to ever live."

With that she pressed her lips against his and moved her arms around his neck.

John kissed back and moved his arms around her back, and pressed his body against hers.

When they parted, they smiled and pressed their foreheads together.

After a small while, Cent helped John to his feet and together, holding hands, they walked away from Shaw's body and down the hallway towards the door that leads outside. Once opening the door and exiting, they are met with headlights from a dozen black SUVs and a bunch of Men-in-Black, who were surrounding them with automatics and their faces concealed by the lights from the SUVs.

Cent tightened her grip on John's hand and asked him, "John? Who are they?"

John swallowed and said the one word he never thought he would have to say in a time like this.

"Syndicate."

Ahhhhhhh! Sorry, I just couldn't help with the cliff-hanger. I thought it was a great place to end for this chapter.

In speaking of this chapter, who loved the fight scene between John and Shaw? Anyone loving the fact that Shaw is dead now? Okay, at least tell me that the moment between John and Cent was romantic and beautiful. ;)

Okay, well, I think we nearing the end now. I know I said that a while back, but I'm not sure when the final chapter will come. There are still a few things to tie up and also for the biggest event for Cent and John yet.

I would like to thank Rose, Marie King, and GeekyZoee for the amazing reviews that you guys have left for me and for my story. You guys rock! :)

Please review on what you thought. :)