AN: You know what I've noticed? Jun and Jin's name are really similar. It gets a bit confusing when you talk about them in the same sentence. Hopefully, you'll forgive me if I type Jin and instead of Jun (or vice versa) anywhere here—I try to catch my mistakes though. Anyways, enjoy.
Chapter 21: All Hell Breaks Loose
Jin was sitting down in his usual seat next to his father. Jun had taken to looking out the window. She wore a forlorn look, but Jin had no idea what she could possibly be miserable about. It wasn't as if Kazuya was at the brink of death anymore. They had successfully escaped the research facility and eventually they would be going home. Everything was looking up as far as Jin was concerned. Yet she was more often than not standing near the window and staring endlessly. Jin thought he wasn't going to say anything, but on the third day, he did.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Jin asked trying to sound concerned, but he doubted he was able to hide the exasperation from his voice.
She looked over to where he sat. "There's a van out there—a big white one—and it's unmarked. I haven't seen anyone come in or come out of it this whole time nor has it ever left."
Jin's eyes grew a little bigger. "Really? Let me see."
Jin had completely forgotten the fact that she was supposed to be keeping an out for any signs of G Corporation. He had assumed that since they hadn't physically come into the room and tried to take Kazuya by force that they might have given up. It never crossed his mind they could be trying another tactic, one less obvious. Jin was already at the window looking down at the large parking lot below. It just so happened that they had a room with a good view of the whole thing. Or could it be…?
Jin looked up at his mother when a sudden realization came over him. "Has that been there the whole time? Were they…?"
Jun nodded. "They must have been watching us. They know that we're here and if they can see us, then, of course, we can see them. I don't believe in coincidences. This room can easily be seen from this parking lot. When I walked down this hall, I noticed that there weren't many patients here. In fact, there was only one. I looked downstairs and saw that there were many empty rooms as well. I spoke with the nurses. This is one of their newer wings. Then I asked how it was they chose which room to place patients. Of course, it depends on what the patient is being treated for, but they try to keep their patients relatively close to one another—less walking around. They'll only change this fact if the patient asks specifically to be placed elsewhere. As you know, we did no such thing so why were we placed in a nearly deserted hall?"
"You don't really think…" Jin began.
Jun nodded again. "The nurses could only say that they were told to place Kazuya in a room away from the other patients. By who; none of the nurses were very clear on. They'll follow what they're ordered to do if it comes from someone in a higher position."
"Then what are we still doing here? We have to leave right now," Jin said frantically.
"G Corporation is waiting for the most opportune moment. They must know of Kazuya's condition. They don't want him to die so at the moment, we both have the same goals. They must be able to keep tabs on Kazuya and they know that for now, he's being treated well here. Why change something if it's working in their favor? But, Jin, I think now is the time to leave. G Corporation will still be waiting and we'll have the element of surprise. I don't think they expect us to make a move right now—we've been so idle thus far."
Jin went at once to wake his father, but Jun placed a steadying hand on his shoulder and shook her head.
"That's not a good idea. Let him rest. This bed can move."
Jin turned to her and watched as she went to the only closet in the room and took out a surgeon's uniform.
"I'll put this on and I'll pretend as if we're moving him to another wing of the hospital. You'll be the concerned son, as you already are."
"Wait, will that work? We can't just go around moving beds. They'll figure out it's a fake."
"That's a risk we'll have to take. Look, Kazuya won't be able to keep up with us on his own. This is how we must get out of here. Besides, I won't bring too much attention to myself. What are the odds that we run into a nurse who actually knows everyone that works here? This is a relatively big hospital."
Before Jin could ask anything more, Jun was already headed for the bathroom. In a few minutes, Jun had switched. She placed her clothes on the bed hidden from sight under the blankets. She gave Jin a knowing look who nodded back at her.
"There's a few things I have to do first."
Jun looked over at the monitor and quickly turned it off. "The machine would go off immediately as soon as it no longer senses his vitals and the nurses would be alerted." She took off the metal clasp that had been securely placed on one of Kazuya's fingers.
Kazuya was still hooked up to a hanging bag, one that the doctor had insisted he had since they didn't think it safe for him to eat orally. Without hesitation, she took off the clear tape that had been used to hold the insertion in place in his arm. Jun took out a cotton ball from one of the nearby drawers and then placed it onto his skin as she carefully took out the needle. Jin watched with interest.
"How do you know how to do all this?" Jin asked.
"I used to take care of animals. Not the same thing, I know, but there are a lot of similarities. Besides, once upon a time I used to watch TV," she said with a grin.
The whole time, Kazuya did not stir completely oblivious to the world or anything Jun was doing. That meant he also couldn't protest if he thought her entire plan to be foolhardy. Jin was almost certain that he would have said so had he been awake. He wondered if that was exactly the reason she hadn't wanted to wake him. It was too late now to think along those lines. Jun was already pushing the bed out.
Once it was rolling, Jun found it quite easy to move. Jin followed along obediently. They were stopped only one time by a watchful nurse, but Jun sounded quite convincing as she explained that she had a patient prepped for surgery. Jin couldn't believe it was working.
"See?" Jun said to Jin when they were safely in the elevator. "People aren't very likely to rock the boat if everything appears kosher at the surface. That's the kind of world we live in. Now, we're getting out of here."
When they got to the first floor, they took the side entrance to avoid any more nurses. They'd look beyond suspicious rolling a hospital bed outside to the parking lot. Jin noticed that the car was parked closer than it had been before. Had she been planning their escape route for this long?
"You're going to have to help me put your father in the back—he's pretty heavy."
Jin could only nod. He couldn't stop himself for looking around for any signs of movement. There was no one for now, but Jin could clearly see the unmarked van. The sooner they could get into the car, the better. Jun carefully lowered the bed and then motioned for the other to help.
"Easy now—we don't want to wake him," Jun said for good measure.
"Why's that?" Jin asked.
"Well, it'd be pretty rude, don't you think?" she answered.
Jin gave her an unconvincing look.
"This isn't the time to go into big long explanation, alright."
Kazuya felt more like deadweight as Jin helped his mother out. Heavy had been an understatement. More like they were trying to move a ton of cinderblocks in human form. Jin suspected that Jun was doing most of the work. When they successfully transferred him to the car he was just beginning to sweat, but Jun didn't look the least bit tired out. She stretched her muscles for a moment and then closed the car door.
"What are we going to do about the hospital bed?" Jin asked.
But Jun was no longer looking at him. He knew instinctively that someone was behind him.
"Jin, don't look back and step into the car as quickly as you can. I'll do the same."
In a split second, Jun leaped into the action rushing to get to the driver's side and Jin was clawing at the door's handle to get inside. He didn't need to look back; he knew that they must have been found. They couldn't worry about the hospital bed at the moment. It was already forgotten as Jun turned on the car swiftly and was backing out just as quickly. Jin chanced looking behind himself and saw two rather large men and they held something dark and metal in their hands. At the moment, they were scrambling out the way of the car, but he could tell what they held.
"Mom!" Jin said urgently.
"I know they have guns," Jun said curtly, "They won't shoot us now. They wouldn't want him to come to any harm."
Jun was frantically shifting gears after they backed out far enough. Soon they were shooting down the street. There were speed bumps, but she ignored them. The car trembled and jostled under the sudden elevations. When she swerved the car out into the main road, Jin heard as his father's head thumped into the car door. It had been enough to finally wake him, Jin knew, as he heard the other curse. At the moment, he wouldn't have a clue as to why he was in a car or how he had gotten here. Jin imagined the other might be ultimately freaking out, for lack of a better term.
Jun was concentrating on the road ahead as her foot stepped even harder on the gas. It was hard to tell if she knew that the other had woken.
"What the…hell!" Kazuya managed to say loud enough, but his voice had an obvious slur to it.
Jin looked to the backseat and watched as Kazuya struggled to sit up, but eventually gave up as if it were too much for him to do at the moment. Jun had been right. He would not have been able to move quickly enough had they woken him sooner. The look of confusion was plain for all to see on his face.
"G Corp found us," Jin said getting his father's attention.
His eyes looked unfocused even as they looked at Jin. Jin got the feeling that even if he did explain the entire situation to Kazuya that he wouldn't understand.
"Jin, don't bother," Jun ordered, her eyes still glued to the road. "Let him rest. He's still quite lethargic and he'll be that way for some time."
"For how long?" Jin asked as he turned back around in his seat. Kazuya had already fallen back to sleep.
"Not now," Jun said. "Let's wait until we're a bit safer."
Jin looked to the back window now and could see the big white van in the distance, but they were getting further and further away. Jun drove like a madman and the van couldn't possibly keep up.
"Grab hold of something, we're going to the interstate."
Jin did so automatically. Just as the white van disappeared into the distance, they swerved into the ramp and lost the van completely. They were practically skidding around the curves. Jun laughed joyously despite the situation.
"Now that's what I call drifting!" she shouted.
One moment, Jin was fearful of his life as they drove at top speeds and in another moment he was looking at his mother in awe. She was completely in her element and enjoying herself just like before. Jin realized that he had never seen her so happy before not in real life and not at this age.
They sped down the highway now and Jun showed no signs of slowing down as she swerved passed car after car. If Kazuya had woken up again Jin hadn't noticed. His eyes too were glued on the road witnessing all the close calls. There was nothing he could do if they actually hit someone at this speed, but he watched nonetheless. It wasn't until half an hour that Jun finally decided to slow down. Jin peered over at the fuel gauge and noticed that it was one tick line below half tank. Jin's heart was beating a mile a minute, but now he could calm himself as he took a deep breath.
Jun glanced over at him apologetically, "Sorry about that."
"No, it's fine. We had to get away from those guys. Do you think it's safe now?"
"I don't know, but the car couldn't take much more of that and I'm using up the gas much too fast. We need to save it for the road ahead."
"How are we getting home?" Jin asked.
"We need to get to an airport. Obviously, I can't use the same one from before. We're well passed it and I don't want to turn back around into the lion's den." Jun looked over at Jin then. "There's something I've always wanted to ask you, Jin. How did you get to Nebraska without a passport or even ID?"
"I pretended I was someone else, I guess. There was this group of kids going on a trip and the lady mistook me as the last person they'd been missing and gave me my ticket."
"Do you realize how coincidental that was?" Jun asked incredulously, "I guess it was true what they said—you were 'guided' here."
"They? Who? I thought there was something or someone else helping me out the whole time. I couldn't have done it on my own."
"It's…complicated. I can't figure out how to really say it. Let's just say that somewhere deep down, your father really wanted to see you."
Jin gave her a questioning look.
"Oh, alright, I'll tell you if you really want to know. Your father's soul was fragmented, most of it cast out by the evil spirit known as Devil that inhabited him since he was a child. Devil took advantage of his weakened state and did this. His soul—as least part of it—had become part of this world and took on forms that resembled him and they became like…ghosts, if you will. Souls are always attached to a body, when it is detached, this is what happens. They become attracted to a place or person that resonate the most with them and try to attach themselves to it. There was something your father had wanted and they tried to fulfill that want the best way they knew how."
"He wanted me?" Jin asked mystified.
"It's not as simple as that," Jun said with a sigh, "But you were part of it and they were able to get through to you, not me. Think, Jin, what would be your deepest desire if you had for most of your life felt alone?"
Then Jin understood as his eyes returned to the road. "I get it now."
"Good because there's a more pressing matter we have to deal with. How are we getting back?"
"I thought you said the airport?"
"I guess we can try there. We may run into some problems with you. No passport, remember? And how are we going to bring Kazuya as well? He can barely move."
"Oh yeah. What's wrong with him? Why can't he move?"
Jun looked at the other exasperatedly, "It's just question after question with you, isn't it? But I know your heart is in the right place." She continued looking at the road for a few seconds and then began. "You know what I did with your father, correct?"
Jin nodded.
"I used some of his life force. Although, some is putting it gentle. Devil was already well integrated with Kazuya to the point that they were practically one person. It's like when you dig a hole for something. The deeper you make the hole the harder it will be to dig that something back up when the time comes. I had to work harder to take away Devil's hold on Kazuya and I had to make it permanent. I alone couldn't do it but with Kazuya's help since he had given me permission to do whatever I needed to, I could do it. Life force is something we're all born with. It's the energy that keeps us alive. It's the energy that allows us to recover ourselves once we're tired or sick. It allows us to function. That's the energy that I used and one's life force isn't so quick to regenerate. As long as there's some left it can still be done, but it will take some time. Only rest can help him now. He won't be especially lucid and he probably won't be able to respond to overly complicated situations. Physically, he won't be able to move very much."
"When you say 'some time', how long?"
"Years, Jin. Years."
"That long?!" Jin said with shock. "Shouldn't we have waited to deal with this Devil thing later when we're safe?"
"Time wasn't on our side. The longer I wait, the harder it would be. Devil knew my intentions. Eventually, it would have been impossible to remove. I had to act quickly."
Jin hadn't known that his father had been awake listening until he turned to look back at him. He couldn't be sure if he had comprehended any of it.
"Where…?" Kazuya asked to Jin when he noticed him looking.
"We're in a car," Jin said as simply as possible.
"No," he said struggling with words in general. He seemed beyond annoyed at the moment, "Where…are we going?"
"The nearest airport," Jin answered.
"Jin, don't bother," Jun repeated, "He won't really understand."
But Jin begged to differ. Kazuya seemed to understand what she was saying as he sighed exasperatedly.
"It's not…It's not…safe," he managed to say.
"Don't encourage him," Jun said to Jin. "He just needs to rest. Leave him be."
As unfocused as his eyes seemed, Jin could sense that he really wanted to say something, but for some reason just couldn't.
"No…Jun…" he continued incoherently.
"Kazuya, you'll just have to trust me," Jun said looking back now. "Trust that I've thought everything through and that this is the best way. Just trust me. That's all you have to do. No matter if you don't understand everything that's happening now."
"I trust you."
It was the clearest, full sentence that Jin had heard his father say in a while. Jun seemed satisfied and her full attention was back on the road.
"Good. Then do me a favor. Shut-up and go back to sleep."
Jin looked at his mother a little startled, but he heard no protest from his father. In fact, he did exactly as she ordered. When he looked back, he found his father quite motionless and asleep. Still, Jin couldn't imagine saying such things to his father for fear of his life.
"That's better. Jin, I think it's better if I keep driving for a while. If there's an airport, the road signs will let me know. Keep an eye out for any signs with an airplane symbol as well."
So they drove and they drove for hours on end. The whole time, Jin saw no picture of an airplane and for some reason he was beginning to feel more and more tense. Jun, however, seemed every bit calm and relaxed. Why shouldn't she be? Everything was going according to plan. They had escaped G Corp once and for all and soon they'd find an airport. Really, all she had to concern herself with was Jin's ID and how she was going to bring Kazuya along, but these were small issues compared to getting out of harm's way. They were safe now—together and utterly safe.
In the late hours of the night when even Jin was beginning to doze off, she decided to pull off to the side of the street to take a quick nap. It was never a good idea to drive while tired and she was only then beginning to feel that way. While she still had the chance, she got out of the car and retrieved at least the jacket she had been wearing. It was getting to be quite chilly outside at night.
"How much longer?" Jin complained as Jun got back into the car. "I haven't seen any of those signs yet."
"Tomorrow I'm sure we'll find something."
Jin could only nod. He peered out the window beside him and gazed at the dark clusters of trees. It was the same kind of trees he'd seen all along, but now that he was up close and it was much darker, they seemed far spookier. He'd lived around trees all his life, but these trees were foreign to him; anything could pop out of there. With a shiver, he dared himself to keep looking, but soon he grew tired of his game and turned front again. He listened to the swooshing sounds of the cars passing. There were less of them. He watched as light after light sped by his vision. It was entrancing. He was so used to them passing by after a few minutes that when one of those lights slowed down and pulled over, it immediately got his attention. When it got close enough, he could make out the vehicle's large size and its white color. He suddenly became cold and still. It looked exactly like the van they had been pursuing them. For a moment, he was too scared to even move, but when the door on the driver's side opened, it quickly threw him out his trance.
"Mom!" Jin whispered anxiously.
Jun must have only been sleeping lightly because she was awake in the wink of an eye. "What is it?"
"The white van. It's there, right there behind us."
"Are you…?" Jun looked back in an instant and knew in that moment that they had been caught.
The man who had stepped out the van advanced upon the car quickly now. Jun twisted the key that was still in the ignition, but she stopped when she heard gunfire.
"Duck!" she cried.
Jin did so, but none of the shots had been aimed at them.
"Oh, no," Jin heard his mom gasp. "The tires are out. We won't be able to go far without those."
Jun had locked the door so when the man tried to open the driver's side door, he was met with resistance. But then suddenly, the door was unlocked.
"Shit, it's an automatic…they must have something."
Jun had scarcely finished her sentence when the man ripped open the door and then was grabbing Jun out of the car. Jin, instinctively, caught one of Jun's arms and pulled back until Jun gave him a look that made him stop. The situation had become hopeless. Still Jun wasn't about to give the man an easy job. She writhed and twisted wildly and the man's strong grasp. In an instant, Jun had the upper hand. She got one of her arms free and elbowed the man hard in the chest. She fell down from his grasp onto the ground and instantly she was on her feet again. Jin simply couldn't believe what he was seeing from his passenger seat. His mom might just be able to break free for good. But then he heard two distinct shots from the van and Jin ducked reflexively. The next moment, he was looking up again and his mother had fallen.
"Mom!" Jin shouted hysterically, "Mom! What happened?! What did you do to her?!"
The man yelled something back to the other who had just stepped out of the van. In that moment, Jin turned to the back of the car. There was only one option left and it didn't really seem like an option. He began to shake his father almost violently and screamed his name as urgently and loudly as he could. There was nothing more he could think to do. His antics were cut short when his door was opened as well and he was grabbed just as easily as his mother had. He squirmed wildly in the man's grasp. The man yelled at him viciously in a language he couldn't understand, but it didn't matter; Jin didn't want to listen to anything the man had to say. The tragedy of the moment hadn't quite hit him, but he was hysterical and he shouted uncontrollably. He just wanted to hit something hard and that man happened to be there. Then everything went dark.
For a long moment, Jin thought he must have been knocked unconscious, but, no, he had been dropped onto the ground. Something must have happened to the man. Jin, breathless, turned around and saw not the man from before, but his father.
"Stay there," his father ordered and Jin did just that.
He heard two more gunshots and then as a large body fell to the ground with soft thud, but then everything became silent. Jin held his breath. He couldn't be sure what had happened. He shivered involuntarily when he heard the sound of disturbed gravel.
"Where is she? Where's your mother?"
It was Kazuya's voice and Jin let out a sigh of relief. Jin had been on the ground, but he stood up when he heard his father's questioning voice. From the light of the white van, Jin could see his father clearly. There was a certain clarity to his eyes that had been lacking before. He showed no signs of weakness as he had before when they had been escaping the research facility. He seemed, well, whole.
"She was shot," Jin said quickly. "She's on the other side."
Kazuya had already left to investigate. Jin followed in suit. He couldn't be sure if his father was put off by the amount of blood that had already been spilt, but Jin was. He could hardly look and guiltily turned away.
"You'll be alright," Jin heard Kazuya say.
Then he heard his mother's voice, weakened now. "Kazuya…it can't be. How is it possible? Did you take care of those men?"
"They won't bother us anymore. Enough about them."
Jin looked back just in time to see his father lift her up effortlessly into his arms.
"Kazuya, don't. Please, don't wear yourself out."
"Don't worry about me," Kazuya stated quite plainly.
"But you don't understand," Jun argued with more force than Jin thought she was capable of at the moment. "It's different for you, Kazuya; you'll die if you push yourself too hard."
Kazuya was already carrying the other towards the idling van. Jin didn't know what the other was planning to do, but he followed nonetheless.
"Put me down, Kazuya, I mean it. I can manage on my own."
For the longest time, Kazuya was silent until they reached the back of the van.
"I think it's time you trusted me for a change. You weigh next to nothing to me and if I don't bandage your wounds soon, you'll be the one dying." Then Kazuya turned to Jin. "Do you think you can drive this thing?"
Jin was caught off guard by this question. He couldn't think of an answer straight off the bat. He'd never driven a day in his life, but he had watched both his mom and father do it and it had seemed easy enough. They'd driven fast, sporty cars not large, bulky vans.
"Don't make me repeat myself," Kazuya warned when he didn't receive an answer fast enough.
Then Jin shook his. "No…I don't think so."
"Is it beyond your capabilities? I'll tell you what to do. There's hardly any cars on the road at this hour—you're less likely to run into anybody."
"But I've never driven anything before," Jin insisted. He couldn't believe his father was asking him to do something so…reckless. He could wind up getting them all killed with a simple snap of the finger. Not to mention, it was night time.
"It's not that difficult. Jin, will you do this for me? It's very important that you do. I'll guide you until you have the hang of it. I wouldn't ask you to do something I didn't think you could handle."
Jin could only stare at the other, but he could tell that his father was being very serious about his request. Then Kazuya's eyes were no longer on Jin as he opened the back doors and climbed in.
"Go to the driver's seat," Kazuya ordered.
He didn't leave much room for argument so Jin finally just went to the front seat. There were simply too many things that could go wrong. When he sat down, he looked to the back. There was practically a small hospital in the back of the van. Jin was taken aback. It was all too convenient.
"How exactly do you think they'd be able to transport a person who may or may not be able to move on his own?" Kazuya said when he noticed Jin looking.
Jin watched as Kazuya rummaged around for bandages and other paraphernalia. Jun was already unconscious. She didn't make a sound as Kazuya gently took off her jacket and was about to lift up her shirt when he glanced over at Jin who was still watching.
"Eyes to the front," he said abruptly. "See if you can reach the two pedals with your feet. Move your chair however far you need to so that your feet can touch them comfortably, but not too close if you don't want to get a cramp in your leg."
Jin dared not look back. He concentrated instead on the situation at hand. He readjusted his seat a few times until he thought he was in a relatively good position.
"Make sure you can look at what going on behind the car with the rear view mirrors."
Jin, a little shorter than the men who had driven the van had to change all three of the mirrors to what he thought was a good position. He felt the time when he would actually have to drive this thing was drawing nearer and nearer. He grew more and more tense.
"The rear view mirrors can see many things behind you, but not all. There are blind spots. If you're not sure if someone's beside you or not, just look out the window beside you and see for yourself. Don't worry about switching lanes just stay in the right most one."
"Okay," Jin said quietly.
"You're on edge, that's a good thing. You'll be more alert. You'll have a faster reaction time if anything goes wrong. Just…resist the urge to press the brakes every five seconds. If you want to slow down only a little and you have room, just let go of the gas instead. And relax a little, this isn't rocket science—it's just you pressing and releasing the gas and steering. Do you know about the stick shift?—it's pretty self-explanatory since it's an automatic."
"I know how to use it. D for drive. P for park. R for reverse."
"Yes. Good. You'll have to hit the breaks to move the stick. Remember that."
Jin had closed his eyes at that moment and concentrated on his father's voice. He seemed to be the only one confident in his ability to drive. He didn't understand why. Why would his father ever trust him with something so big?
"Seat belt."
Jin quickly put on his seat belt. It was something he already knew to do which made him feel just a little comfortable.
"Now tell me, what would you do first to move the van?" Kazuya asked.
"Shift gears," Jin answered.
"And how would you do that?"
"Um…press the breaks and move the stick?"
"Yes, exactly. Then what?"
"I'd hit the gas."
"Would you?"
Jin began to doubt himself. "Yes…?"
"What are those rear view mirrors for?"
"Oh, yeah, I'd look first and then hit the gas."
"Yes. Just like looking both ways before you cross the street. Same principle."
"Okay."
"Once you're out on the road, the speed limit is 60 miles per hour. The speedometer will tell you how fast you're going. It's right behind the steering wheel. You see it?"
"Yeah."
"When you get tired, just stop on the side of the street. Slow down first and then pull over and stop. You'd hit the breaks and then put the car in park. Make sure you turn off the car if you do."
"And watch out for the gas gauge, as well?"
"Of course. If you see the gas light turn on—it'll look like a gas pump—pull over as soon as you can. Otherwise, when you see the line near E, just pull over when you can. Now, see if you can get this van out onto the street."
Jin gulped and then followed through methodically on what Kazuya had told him to do. He heard as bandages were being unwrapped and applied to his mother's wounds. He must have been cleaning them this whole time. He gently pressed the gas, but then he pressed a little harder to get out of the gravel. Then suddenly he was out on the road and he turned the steering wheel a little too sharply in his surprise.
"Calm yourself. Nothing should ever be done quickly unless it's someone running into you or something," Kazuya said.
Jin took a deep breath and turned his steering wheel with less vigor as his foot pressed on the gas. Soon he was in the rightmost lane driving down the highway. At first, he drove slowly, but gradually he sped up.
"Is Mom gonna' be alright," Jin willed himself to ask with eyes glued exclusively to the road ahead.
"She'll be fine. One of the bullets didn't go through all the way. Had to take it out, but the bullet seemed intact so there shouldn't be any shards left over. She's still breathing if that's what you're asking. Luckily she is unconscious. It would have been painful otherwise."
"Mom said you wouldn't be able to move for a long time. She said something about your life force being too low or something. But you're fine now, right?"
Jin waited for the other to respond, but when he didn't immediately, Jin was too frightened to take his eyes off the road to look back.
"To be honest, I think your mother is right."
"But then how…?"
"Adrenaline. That's what I'm working on right now, but it won't last. That's why I need you to drive. Out of all of us, you're the only one who can do it. G Corporation may not have given up and I don't like staying at the scene of the crime. Any police could drive by and that would be it. Your mother had a plan—a good one, but we'll have to deviate for now."
"Dad…are you scared I might run into something? That's why you're okay now?"
"No. If there's anything you are, it's resourceful."
"Then what?"
"Your mother, she's looks rather weak right now. I've done all I can so the only thing left to do is wait. Do you think you can handle the van on your own?"
"The steering was kind of weird, but I think I got it."
"Good. Keep driving for as long as you can until either you tire of the gas goes out."
"You're…going back to sleep?"
"You'll be fine, Jin. Trust in your own abilities."
"But what if I have any questions?"
"Then wake me."
"But you're all the way back there, I can't reach you."
"Then make the best of the situation."
"But—
"Enough of your buts. You're driving right now and that's all I really wanted you to do. You see that it's easy. Don't waste your energy worrying. Now, continue as you are."
"But, I'm afraid…I can't do this alone. Dad?"
"You're not alone…" Kazuya replied wearily. "You're protecting those who you love most."
Jin could already hear the weariness in the other's voice, but he couldn't help himself. He wanted his father to stay with him for as long as he could so he continued to talk.
"I'm too young for that," Jin declared.
"You're not. Trust me…you're not."
"But how can you be so certain?"
"You have…good sense…" Kazuya began. Jin could tell that he was struggling with his words now. "Your mother…she raised you well…and you understand—no, you have integrity…a strong sense of integrity…Strange, I can't really find…the right words. Just keep driving, alright?"
"I will. Just—please stay with me."
Jin was only presented with deafening silence. His father never said another word. He listened closely and heard as his father's breathing became much deeper. It was too late and Jin was left to himself driving. He knew he was being selfish. He knew his mother had insisted that, Kazuya rest, but that did not change the fact that he was here right now driving a van on his own at night. The fear was palpable but for some reason, all he could do was keep his foot steady on the gas. He drove forth endlessly, anxiety fueling his wakefulness.
/
AN: Off topic, but I really want that FFXIV game! I was a beta for the game recently and it ended yesterday. I don't usually play Elder Scroll-y games like that, but it was pretty fun. I got shamelessly addicted and I actually liked creating my own character here. I know it hasn't come out yet and I'm not sure if I'll have the finances to get it, but to jump the gun: if you notice a character named Jasper Bloodstone(main) or Malachi Firewright(alt)—that's one of mine (both guys even though I'm a girl).
Anyways, I'm really enjoying myself with this story. Maybe I've seen too many action movies, but I'm really having fun. Stay tuned for another action-packed chapter!
