Ivy

My brain is still frozen. James had said that it was probable he could be dead by the time I got his email...

... Eight hours earlier...

James

They were watching me. I couldn't prove it but I could feel it as I walked to my car. Okay. Deep breath. Calm down . You can do this James.

I'm about 5 meters from my car as I unlock it. If there's a bomb in there, I'd know. Right? Nothing happens. If there is a bomb in my car there's no escaping it now.
I look to my left then to my right. Great I'm alone. If I'm about to get murdered in my car, I might as well as send that email right now. I click on send and when its done I tuck my laptop back into its bag.

Braving the unknown, I open the door and take my place at the driver's seat. Okay James, what triggers bombs in those kind of thrillers that Netflix is showing. Cut wires? I sniff the air. Hmm, no funny smell. I peak under my steering wheel. Nothing suspicious there. If I die of a car bombing it'll definitely be a pro.

I start the car and let out a deep breath as I pull out of the driveway. The streets are moderately busy. This is great because who in their right mind would try to go after me in public?

As I drive through Main Street, I realize I'm the only one driving through that road along with four black jeeps. They seem quite familiar from the previous road I took. That cold chill that had been tormenting me for the last two days creeps up to me as these jeeps begin to surround me.

Suddenly the one on my right slams into me and I lose control as my head slams onto the dashboard. The next thing I know, my car is overturned. By some miracle I'm still alive.

Still in confusion, I watch as the jeeps pull over and from one in front of my overturned Camaro. I watch as someone steps out.

He's dressed in black which hugs his lean figure. I can't make out most of his face. He has a mask pulled up over his nose and is wearing a black hood. The only thing I can see are his brown eyes filled with malevolence. Its like looking straight into the eyes of death.

I fumble with my seat belt. I have to get away. This guy is here to kill me and he will if I don't get away. The accident must have injured me more than I had realized as I'm ridiculously slow, forget the pain which my brain doesn't seem to be processing. I can't get away. He smashes into the windshield and pulls me out with inhuman strength.

"Please, I won't tell anyone. Please don't... I never get to finish the sentence.

My life flashes before my eyes as he pulls out a sharp dagger and presses it to my neck. There's a sharp burning pain along my throat. I can't breathe. My hands find something wet on my throat. I think it's my blood. Then everything goes dark...

Present

Celeste

I watch as Ivy goes into shock. It's too much to process for her but it can't be helped. She has just been thrown into the deep end and now she's supposed to swim her way out of it. I've been there and I'd probably be dead if Don hadn't saved me.

I frown as a chill settles into the pit of my stomach. If he were here he'd know what to do. Heck, if he were here then the hired gun who was after Ivy would already be dead. He was that good and that scary. Which is why something about this whole thing seemed off.

"I know a place we can lay low. Till the heat passes at least." Marsh says suddenly.

"You think we can shake the tail?" Ivy asks.

"Tail? What tail?" I ask in confusion.

I turn towards where she's pointing.

"Some biker is tailing us and call me crazy but that can't be below the speed limit." She says.

"Shit, he's gaining on us!" I exclaim out loud.

"Hang on tight. This is about to get real bumpy." Marsh says.

Marsh speeds up. I know for a certainty that we're now over 100 miles an hour but our tail doesn't seem to be letting out. If anything, because of the somewhat crowded street, our Porsche doesn't have any room to maneuver around the streets. Unfortunately, his bike can and he's now at our bumper.

I watch as he pulls out something, a dagger most probably and I watch as he leans towards the car.

"Uh, guys, I think he's trying to mess up our wheels!" Ivy says in alarm.

Marsh tries to swerve but its too late. I feel the tire burst through the frame of the car. Luckily, he was in control as he pulls over abruptly.

"Get out! Now!" Marsh orders.
I grab Ivy and push her out of the car. There's no way around this. We have to fight our way out of this one and damn, this guy was good. I push Ivy behind me.

"Stay back." I tell her as I brace myself for the fight that was coming.

Marsh comes besides me. He has some knuckle braces, his favorite accessory. There's two of us. Surely we can take this guy.
He steps off his bike and approaches us. Lean build brimming with confidence and self-assurance. Something about him is vaguely familiar but he's not looking friendly.

I eye Marsh. We both know what we have to do. He attacks first and I cover him. The other guy easily blocks him. That can't be right. How do you block a knuckle brace with your bare hands?

I have no time to ponder on this as I attack him with my nun chucks. I'm good with those. Don taught me how to use them and block them. Somehow this guy, after giving me a blow to my chin, easily yanks them from my hands and gives me a hard kick to my abdomen.

What is this guy? Some advanced human? Marsh tries to keep him distracted. He has a metal rod. I don't where it came from. He tries to bash the guy across the head. Its a great strategy, if we can knock him out we can surely get away.

Unfortunately, the guy's super-fast. He turns around and blocks the attack single handedly. Seriously though, who is this guy? I realize with dread that individual attacks won't work on him. He's that good. I eye Marsh and see he's realized the same thing.

Okay then, time to combine tactics. I kick him, pathetic as he easily deflects it and throws me back but that's the whole point. I had to get to him. I reach into the back of our car. Through Providence I had managed to grab a rope.

I throw Marsh the other end of it. He doesn't ask any questions. He knows exactly where I'm going with this. He tosses me one of his knuckle braces. If this doesn't work, nothing can. We rush at him simultaneously and begin throwing punches. I duck just in time to avoid his dagger, no fair, but manage to circle him.
Before he can turn his attention on me, we attack him again. He manages to deflect all our kicks and punches so well. Eventually we are the ones who manage to get beaten up.

Seizing a minute opportunity, we circle him with the rope and pull. We manage to restrain him but I can tell he's super pissed. Whatever, you can be mad all you want sucker, there's no way you're getting out of this one. I spoke too soon.

He manages to break free, something no one should be able to do by sheer effort alone. I'm momentarily thrown off balance. I find myself flying into his arms. He catches me by the throat and I know what's coming as I look into his eyes. Everything goes into slow motion as he brings down the dagger.

Someone attacks him. I realize in distress it's Ivy. She has found the rod Marsh discarded. Because her attack would have definitely decapitated the guy, he's forced to drop me but not before the rod tears off his mask. He jumps back before further damage can be done. Whilst I'm glad her attack managed to catch him off guard, I didn't like exposing her to the danger. I drag her back before she does something stupid and attacks him again.

He gets up from where he's fallen and turns to face us. My blood freezes over. Imagine getting the wind knocked out of you. That is what it felt like seeing the face behind that mask. The hair was a different color and longer, like I'd always figured, and the eyes were different but the face is the same. In fact, pretty much everything is the same.

"Don?" Ivy says. She's as shocked as I am.

He eyes her as he straightens himself.

"Who the hell is Don?" He asks.
Even the voice is exactly as I remember. Shit. Time for a change of strategy. I pull her back just as he attacks. If our chances before were slim, right now they were pretty much nonexistent and Marsh realizes this as well. We can't fight him. We won't stand a chance in hell. He'll kill us all and he won't even break a sweat.

I've always known I couldn't match up to him but this version of him downright terrified me. He was stronger than before. Weirdly so. Even more appalling, he was more cold blooded and ruthless and he couldn't recognize us.

I couldn't stop to process things as much as I loved to. My first priority was keeping us all alive and evading him, if such a thing was possible. Luckily, Marsh had everything figured out. He had found a rocket launcher from god knows where and he fired it.