Chapter 3:
Hi! So sorry I didnt put an authors note in the first chapters, I was a bit busy. So this is my first actually published fic and I've already gotten some lovely reviews, thank you so much for those! And please, any comments or critiques you have, please let me know!
Thank you to my Beta, Erika for helping me put all this together!
And please visit us on tumblr at talkingtoyourbones for drawings and extras from Erika and yours truly!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything! It belongs to amazing people of Dreamworks!
Jack's breath came out harsh and gasping, but he didn't dare stop. He had to get to Aster, had to stop him before he got hurt. The closer Jack got, the more the ghosts receded, until finally all but Manny were gone. Jack rounded the final corner, finding himself at the back of a crowd surrounding an alley. Jack looked around, panic slowly creeping in until he finally found a fire escape. Jack took off his shoes and threw them in his backpack, which he tied securely to his back. Jack climbed up a story, where he sat on the overhang directly above the alley. What he saw chilled him to the bone.
Aster stood, shaking, with blood pouring out of a gash on his forehead. He had both arms raised defensively, clenched in fists. "Alright, which of ya' is next?"
Laughter went up throughout the crowd as a man, dwarfing Asters 6'1, walked up. Aster's jaw clenched, already seeing that he had little to no chance.
"Oh my! That's not very fair is it boys?" Jack froze as Pitch's sultry mocking voice floated up to where he was hiding. "Shall we give him a weapon?" The crowd roared its assent. Pitch laughed and threw the supposed weapon, and Jack watched as Aster reached up and caught the object in his hand.
"A boomerang? Seriously?" Jack could practically hear Aster's eye roll.
Aster only had a moment to complain before the other man charged. Aster held his ground until the last moment, when he jumped to the side allowing the man to blow past him. But Jack see that, despite dodging this punch, Aster wouldn't last much longer and Jack had no idea how many people Aster had already taken down. After the third punch, Aster was on the ground, boomerang long forgotten on the other side of the alley, with a broken nose and a cracked rib or two. The bigger man put his foot on Aster's chest and pushed, Jack flinched as he heard Aster's barely contained scream. Jack leaned forward, gripping the handles of the fire escape until his knuckles turned white and his nails drew blood on his palm.
The man forced Aster to a kneeling position, sneering triumphantly at Pitch.
"What do we do wit' him now boss?"
Pitch glanced up then looked back to Aster, who could barely keep his eyes open. A smile crawled its way up Pitch's lips, "Kill him."
Ice filled Jack as he heard the click of the safety, every sense was on high alert and he went numb with fear and panic. He could feel Manny next to him, pleading with Jack to stay where he was. But before could even think he heard an anguished scream of "No!" tear from his lips.
The shooter paused upon hearing Jack's shout, and then looked up at an unsurprised Pitch. "Well, go and get him." Pitch waved his hand dismissively in the air.
The mob surged violently. Jack panicked, fear rooting him to the spot. He desperately searched for Aster, finally finding him grappling with his would be shooter for the gun.
Aster eventually grabbed hold and pulled the trigger, shooting the man in the knee. Frightened eyes met frightened eyes. "Run Jack run!" Aster desperately yelled to Jack, watching helplessly as the mob drew nearer and nearer to his little brother. One of the men reached Jack's fire escape. Fear overrode every other sense in Aster's body as he watched the man get closer and closer. On instinct, he drew the gun level, and pulled the trigger, hitting the man square in the chest. The mob turned on Aster in a fury. He desperately backed up, waving the gun in the air. Jack watched all of it happen, never moving until the gun shot. He flinched the sound, finally breaking his panicked stillness.
"Jack, climb!" Aster pleaded.
Jack began to climb up the fire escape, when he reached the roof, he looked down. All he saw was a pair of green eyes watching him escape with relief before the mob completely surrounded his brother.
Jack ran. He ran across the building before finding the fire escape on the other side. He quickly climbed down the five flights, and jumped off the last few steps to give himself the momentum to sprint the rest of the way.
When Jack finally made it home, he locked the door and collapsed on the couch. He couldn't breathe, everything hurt. All Jack could see was his brother, left to The Fearlings and Pitch. Tears fell down his face as Jack began to gasp out a sort of desperate prayer, "I'm sorry. Please be okay. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please be okay."