All will be revealed in this chapter. Well... a lot of things will be any way. If I revealed everything by the third chapter, you'd all be bored out of your atoms! Sooo, instead... (you know what's coming) Read, enjoy, and comment!!!
For the first time, I was actually glad that my dad was so tough on me.
Every time we trained, we ended up fighting. Sometimes with words, sometimes practice fights.
He always got this look in his eye, when I couldn't hit something or when I had trouble mastering a kick.
In between homework and on late nights, I thought of the look I thought was shame. It made me train harder wanting him to say, “Good job”.
But now that was training someone myself, I discovered I was wearing that look, and now I recognised it.
It was fear.
My dad was fearful, that if he didn't do his job right -if he didn't push me enough- I would be killed by the enemy. And it would be his fault.
So he pushed me.
As I did to Jae.
He had a much tougher time, though, because we trained in odd places.
Small hotel bedrooms, a clearing off the side of a road. Even mind training, during the car ride, to see how many things he could consider at once.
When we came across the first group of ISIS soldiers, I was bored.
It was my turn to drive my dad's almost new Ford Escape, which was what we were doing -escaping.
Jae was asleep on a plush leather seat next to me, his face relaxed.
Despite the darkening night, I was wide awake.
But it was hard to keep focus onto the road.
My mind kept drifting, thinking of my parents, Jae’s parents, and Jae.
I swallowed the spinning top of my thoughts.
My eyes thrust themselves toward the road.
The rain flung itself at the window with the might of a ruthless army.
Through the furious scurries paths of the water molecules, I could barely make out my headlights that were attempting to plunge the knife of light into the sea of night.
Despite its brave efforts, I could no longer see.
In the moments, that followed I could barely comprehend. The first thing that happened was that I saw a figure, holding a large object that was warped by the rain. But it was his voice that struck terror into my being.
“Jae Jabez and Alina Carta come out to claim your death.”
The next thing, I experienced was the noise, the horrible noise that temporarily shattered every bit of confidence I had come to possess over the years.
It was as if someone had taken a giant ball of tin foil and crunch it to half the size, then amplified the noise with the speakers that rock stars use.
And I was standing directly in front of the speakers.
But that wasn't the end of it.
Next came the pain.
Despite my high pain tolerance, it hurt like mad to have a truck smash up the car I was in.
My side felt as though someone had attacked my side with a weedwacker, or perhaps a crowbar. My head was a vortex of splitting pain. But I didn't feel or hear any shattering glass. That was a relief.
I peeled my spinning head from the steering wheel, and stared ahead -waiting for my head to finish its gymnastics routine.
I heard Jae snort into wakefulness.
“What th---” Jae’s voice was a cool towel on a feverish forehead, “Are you okay?
“I’m not dead.” I replied, barely moving my head. “You?”
“No impact from over here. I think that it mostly hit on your si--” He gasped as I turned my head.
“Oh my go--” Jae started, “I think you might have a concussion.”
I winced, “Good diagnosis, doctor.”
“Now, go hit whatever hit us.” I continued beyond relief that he wasn't hurt.
There was a horrible creaking noise that made me want to pierce my ears out.
Jae grunted, “The door’s stuck!”
I smiled, “Don't worry. My dad was overly prepared.”
I slowly angled my body toward the stuck door. Jaes eyes were the only things i could see in the dim lighting. They were stretch in an angle that made him look wide and innocent as though he was trying to remember the days when his biggest worry was what girl to ask to the dance.
I swallowed that thought, trying not to linger on the past.
“Reach down underneath your seat.” I started, “there should be a lever, pull it.”
Jae nodded, bending his body in half to reach the switch.
“Done,” he reported.
“Good, now reach into the compartment above your knees.” I continued.
Jae obeyed. In the dim glow from my broken headlights, I could only see the outline of his bowed head. I assumed that he was able to see me because he had already let his eyes adjust, in sleeping.
“Found something!” Jae yelped, startling me out of my thoughtful state.
He held it up, “I found--- make up?”
My ears told me of his confusion, “Yes, my dad had to disguise it as something.”
His jaw moved in the almost darkness as though he was about to speak, but I cut in.
“Like I said, he was paranoid.” I rolled my eyes, my head aching as my eyes hit a beam of light.
I took a breath, gulping the memories that had “rivered” into my head.
“Ever broken a car window before?” I questioned.
“Can’t say that I have.” I saw a flash of teeth in the dark.
I smiled painfully, “It’s simple. Just unscrew the tube and smear the edges of the car window with paste. As close to the edge as you can.”
The sticky paste routine was simple enough. And widely used. My parents loved the stuff. They used it to open their pickle jars.
In the quiet silence of the darkened car, the breaking of the window was a new flashlight in a pitch black room.
Even in the darkened car, I could see the glass reflect the pale moon, still a single connected panel. It sailed in slow motion. Descending gently to the dark unknown world outside. It settled with a clatter then shattered. Each piece flying apart as though eager to escape the demonic beast it had just encountered. Some flew upward, as though reaching for the moon but those just fell back directly into the mouth of the creature it had tried to escape.
Jae moved his head outside the window, I bit back a screaming, there was a creature out there!
I breathed in and out. The concussion was making me go bonkers.
As hard as I tried, though I couldn't erase the feeling that I had forgotten something. IIt was there at the edge of my brain, throbbing even more with the thought.
I heard Jae call out that he was going to see what hit us. But I barely even comprehended his voice.
My brain was working overtime.
I remembered being in the rain, then…
The figure! Of course!
“Jae!” I crawled over the cupholders to the other empty seat.
He didn't answer.
I crawled through the window, by the time my feet touched the ground, I was in agony.
My side was on fire, jolting with every slight movement and my head felt like someone has accidentally splattered hot sauce on the insides.
I pushed down my nausea.
“Jae careful, there's someone out here.” I yelled pushing myself to my feet.
“I believe he knows.” a voice said, my brain recognised the voice as the man who had declared our doom.
Helpful, I thought
My eyes followed the voice to a large man standing some five feet from me.
He was about 6 foot, with hair the color of copper and muscles pulsing thru his ripped bloody shirt. I had a feeling that the ripped part was no fashion statement and the blood was not his. His eyes were light blue, but far from the stereotype of blue eyed innocent. On some people, eyes like his may look different, softer perhaps, but on him they just looked terrifying. They gave off this venomous vibe that bothered me. It bothered me even more, the fact that he was clutching Jae with one arm and pointing a gun at me with the other.
I swallowed.
“Hey, Jae. Who's your friend?” I asked trying to keep things from totally falling apart.
“How am I supposed to know!” Jae screeched, “this weirdo just grabbed me the second I got out of the car!”
I ignored him and looked to the man, “Hey! My name is Alina.”
He raised his eyes, I held back a shudder. His eyes were full of pure malice.
“I know who you are.” His voice may as well have been made of lead.
I smeared a smile across my face.
“I didn't realize I had fans,” I laughed and continued before he could think it over, “My friend and I were just heading over to the movies. I believe it starts in…”
I glanced at my wrist, “Oh shoot. I left my watch at home. Jae, dear, would you by any chance have yours?”
“I would gladly check once he,” Jae jerked his head in the direction of his captor, “is off me.”
The man loosened his hold on Jae.
Jae reached into his pocket.
He shouted, “Aha!” and slammed the butt of his knife against the man's head.
The poor man slumped down to the asphalt.
Jae uncoiled himself from the man's grip.
I almost felt sorry for the unconscious man, but that was before I saw the symbol on the band wrapped around his forearm.
The familiar C on its side with a dot hovering over it, the symbol of ISIS.
Anger filled my stomach and threaten to fly up thru my mouth.
I forced it down.
I marched over to the man and tore it off, stuffing it in my pocket.
I returned to where Jae waited for me.
“Jae dear?” he said with a laugh.
I smiled, glad he had missed my moment of anger. “I was getting into character!”
Jae shook his head, “Anyway how do we get out of here?”
A car, of course! I wonder if he… I smiled.
Across the expanse of about thirty feet of chipped ruined concrete was an old Jeep. The headlights were on, shining in the direction of where we were heading.
“Jae, can you get the bags?”
“Way ahead of you,” Jae approached me, bags in hand.
“Let’s go,” he laughed, “and this time I'll drive.”
I allowed myself a smile.
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