Chapter 29

The scenery of Mississippi was different from the other states we crossed through today.  In fact, at the moment, it looked as if we were driving through Trashville.  There was unkempt nature all around us, but with it came junk every few yards I drove. Sights of rusty cars and car parts, machinery, tools and more were constant in the overgrown lawns. The dumpy houses that accompanied the long grass and junk didn't look much better.  Many looked vacant and falling apart.  The low sun and deep pink skies only enhanced the eerie feeling I was receiving while driving.  What better place than this though was there to dump Vic? 

Who knows, Vic might like this area as his resting place.  I mean, his body would fit well with the junk around here.  It was also a place I could picture my oh so loving mother living.  God rest her soul but I'm sure her buddy Satan already took care of her. 

Glancing to the digital clock, we had a half hour to go until we needed to do the deed. It made questioning Jackson even better.  It was a nice distraction from what we were about to do when 9:30p.m hits.

"I want to know something.  Did you ever imagine any of this happening when you started working for the FBI?" I asked when I glanced to Jackson.  He was sitting in the passenger seat, looking like his fun-filled self.  His blank eyes decided they weren't worthy to look at me when he answered, gaze aimed through his open window. 

"No.  Then again, I learned that I shouldn't be surprised by anything that happens," he said.  I nodded.  Knowing he had other jobs before me to watch after people, I could understand where he was coming from.   

Though I found what he said to be interesting, there was another reason I was questioning him other than curiosity and as a distraction.  Considering I was mostly alone with Jackson (excluding Vic bound in the back who was sleeping anyway), I took advantage of Luke's suggestion to get more information out of him.  We sure had enough time thanks to the plan we came up with last night.  

What was that plan, you nosy cocksuckers ask?  Well, late yesterday when we stopped for the night after my little freak-out, we came up with a new course of action.  It was based on what Carter told us at the gas station.  It started when we woke up this morning and began driving.  This time though... we didn't head west towards Washington like we originally had planned.

The moment we entered Missouri during our first hour on the road, we instantly started going south for the rest of the day.  We created this detour for a few reasons.  One was to hopefully deter the men after us and lose them.  The second reason was to confuse them.  We planned on killing and dumping Vic in Mississippi.  That way, once the men after us find his body (if they don't already see our interesting new route) they will have evidence that we are south.  Once we dump Vic, we also dump this SUV in a different location.  It was a good way to change vehicles considering we did it that way before and managed to get ahead a few days.  The only difference this time was how we were getting the new vehicle.

Jackson did the driving most of the day through Missouri and Arkansas with all of us crammed in the SUV.  Then, just an hour ago when we entered Mississippi, we stopped at a place we knew would be coming up thanks to careful planning: a campground.  It was a good place to steal a car if you think about it.  There were limited cameras and a lot of vehicles to potentially steal.  This time though, we did something we never did before: we split up.  We left Luke and Carter on the road that the campground entrance was on.  The campground was surrounded in a thin strip of trees, which they walked through to get to the rows of campers and vehicles. 

Leaving them there to do their part, I then took over driving.  Jackson directed me down deeper backroads with a confused Vic tied up in the back until he fell asleep.  Luke and Carter knew the route we were taking so they could catch up to us.  The plan was that after we kill Vic and leave him somewhere, we drive ahead to Chast Road, which I highlighted on the map.  We were going to pull over just before a corner on that road, which was maybe just an hour more of driving.  Luke and Carter were going to meet us there with the new vehicle they steal, help us ditch the SUV, and we would then quickly head back towards Washington. 

I could only hope everything works out but I was on edge.  Did it make me nervous that Luke and Carter weren't with us at the moment?  You could say that.  Despite feeling slightly better then yesterday regarding Carter's validation, those worries and fears still lingered.  So splitting up didn't help my state of mind.  Hopefully the time would go fast.  Jackson was proving to be a great way to make that happen with each second.

Sifting through anymore possible questions, I continued without pausing.  It was rather easy to come up with them.  I didn't know a lot about him like Luke pointed out before and this did give me the chance to pry.  My attempts in the past didn't pan out well when only pure interest was involved.  Now though, there were more reasons on top of that why I wanted him talking.  "How did you even end up working for them?  You're job is very specific and I can't imagine little you wanting to do this when you were growing up."   

Eyes still ahead on the windy country road, I could see Jackson tense up more from my side vision.  I knew it would only take a few questions for Jackson to want to close up shop for the day.  "Why does it matter?  It's not important," he scoffed, as if I was the ridiculous one. 

"I just want to know.  Plus every time I asked in the past, you always avoided it like a little chicken.  After everything that has happened now, it makes me want to know more.  It's not like I'm asking anything real personal. Jeez," I said, shaking my head.  It wasn't like I was lying.  Everything I was said was true.  I actually was sincerely interested.  He was always very strange and mysterious to me and learning more about him was fascinating.  "When you're ready to unscrew that dildo from your ass, let me know," I snapped.

Jackson was not a man you talk back to if you guys haven't figured that out yet.  I didn't care though and I left him alone for a minute.  I could see him get more and more tense in his seat until he finally spoke before I had to pester him more.  "Fine, just so you will shut up.  My uncle was in the FBI and he wanted me to join too when he noticed that I took an interest in his job."

When he said nothing more, I groaned. "I'm sure there is more to it then that!"  Resting back into the driver's seat more, I slowed down again for another sharp curve.  My ears picked up his sigh of annoyance over the noise of crickets and the air from the open windows.  It blew the few strands of loose hair that escaped my bun around my vision but I didn't mind.  It was so warm out even though night was coming.

He finally elaborated on his answer.  "Fine.  I found my uncle's job neat and it made me want to learn more about the FBI.  I also enjoyed the concept of authority and enforcement. That's how. As for this job position, that happened more by accident.  First, my uncle helped me get in but it was more of a desk job.  More importantly, I wasn't fond of a lot of the people I worked with and they didn't like me either. They knew my potential though and assigned me this job.  I didn't know that it was technically separate from the FBI until I actually started the job.  They should have informed me of that before I accepted it but many of them are assholes."  

I could definitely see what he was describing.  Of course, knowing Jackson, I'm sure there was more to it.  "You sure that you weren't being an asshole too?"

He just shook his head.  "I'm positive."

"I thought so," I mumbled, glancing from him to the road.  Hearing what he told me, it only triggered more thoughts and questions.  The paved road straightening back out with no other cars on it, I looked back over to him.  Surprisingly, there was a small smile on his face.  Maybe he was actually enjoying talking about himself and the hidden egotistical bitch in him was coming out.  It made me greedy.  "How did that work though when you first got into the FBI?  Like were you forced to move when you decided you wanted to enter?  That's another thing!  Where and the hell are you even from?"  That last one would be very interesting.

He managed to surprise me twice in a row when my eyes returned to stay on him longer.  His hardly there smile broke into laughter.  Not humorless or twisted laughter either, if you can believe it.  When he stopped, his mouth was set in a rare grin towards me.  "This is one informal interview, isn't it?  If you had to take a guess, where do you think I'm from?"

Thinking it over, liking that he was opening up, it took me a long moment.  I needed to take his personality, how intelligent he was, the way he spoke, and his attitude into account.  So many possibilities.... "Gotham City?"  He was kind of dark.

"No."

It was probably a real place.  "New York?" I guessed, biting my lip in suspense.

Before I looked back to the road, I received a curious raised eyebrow and an amused glance.  He apparently found that guess more interesting than Gotham City. "Why would you say New York?"

It was honestly a poor guess based on stereotypes.  "I don't know.  But when I think of New York, I wrongly think of big cities and rich people.  And when I think about that, I think of stuck up people who think they are better than everyone.  Which would fit you," I explained, shrugging.  That was my logic behind it even though I knew it was dumb.

"Way off," he said, taking a deep breath and resting back in his seat.  Tilting his face towards me and resting his cheek against the headrest, I could feel his eyes on me.  "I'm from Georgia."

My head whipped from the road to stare at him.  I was completely shocked and found that to be very intriguing.  I couldn't stop my grin and wide eyes and saw him smile.  "Seriously? Oh man, that is so weird!  I wouldn't have guess that.  You did well losing the accent," I said, glancing back at the empty road.  There were less and less houses and junk I noticed.  Instead, there were ditches that ran parallel to the road's pavement, still surrounded in overwhelming nature.  We were nearing an intersection ahead that we planned to pass, a couple signs posted by it, which was rare.

He scoffed and shook his head in humor at my reaction.  "It wasn't hard.  I wasn't in Georgia for long at all actually.  Just until I was six."  Though Jackson knows how to hide shit including his feelings, I could hear a somber note in his voice. 

Nearing the intersection, I saw the few ghetto-looking signs better.  They indicated the direction of cities.  Funny enough, the arrow pointing ahead towards where we were heading said Jackson on it!  The other arrow pointing to the left said Tupelo.  Under each was a large number.  Probably indicating the number of miles it would take to get to each but we passed it too fast for me to read.  I couldn't help but gesture behind me with a thumb.  "You wouldn't have happened to have moved to a place called Jackson, would you?  How fucking cool would that be to move to a city with the same name as yours?"

Focusing on the road and him, I caught him rolling his eyes.  "That's the capitol of Mississippi.  No though, I didn't move there.  Went north actually," he mumbled in a lower voice that was hard to pick up thanks to both our windows being all the way down.  I'm glad I did hear though because it made me more curious.  His words came without me pushing him for it, as if he wanted to tell me.  Yet, he didn't sound too happy about the subject. 

"Why did you have to move?" I dared, though I wouldn't blame him this time if he refused to say. 

Once more, he decided to surprise me.  "My mother died when I was young.  She was the only thing keeping my dad from a job up in Pennsylvania," he said neutrally, looking back out the window in thought. 

Seeing that he was actually more willing to open up, I couldn't let it end there.  There were so many more questions I wanted to ask.  "Well, when you took this job that required you to move around the country with different people under different names, was that a hard decision to make?  I mean it basically meant giving up your own life to live another whenever the FBI needed you."

"I found it more fascinating than anything.  I was excited because I looked at it more like an adventure.  I could be a different person with each person that I was meant to protect.  I wouldn't have to deal with the drama of my own life.  It's appealing when all you want is a different life," he said, still staring out the window. 

It was kind of depressing to hear him explain it like that but I did more than understand.  I know for a fact that a few years ago, I would have jumped at that chance in a second if it meant being away from Clare and my doomed life.  Even now, if I had that chance to get a new life whenever my job required it of me, I might take it.

Though his words would leave me thinking about that, my curiosity and excitement over wanting to know more got the better of me.  "Do you act any different each time you start over and live under a new name?"  I had a good idea the answer was no.  The thought of his personality changing with each identity he lived was intriguing though.

"Not really but my environment can effect me.  The people around me too and sometimes the different jobs I would work."

I raised an eyebrow, glancing between him and the road more.  "Wait, you actually worked normal jobs while under your real one?"

He scoffed.  "Sometimes.  Try imagining it.  My job is to hide under different identities with people.  It can get boring just sitting around and doing nothing after a while.  Especially if I know that the people I'm watching and protecting don't really need me.  So I would find work to keep busy."

"Dude, you should become a stripper!" I said, excited.  The idea made me want to laugh because him doing that as a job was too unlike him.  But it would sure make for an interesting job and story.  Plus, it wouldn't follow him around since he changes his name and life whenever he is needed.  

"I think I would do any job in the world if it meant not doing that," he mumbled.  

We stayed in silence for a moment as I let everything he told me sink in.  It helped me realize how little I actually knew about Jackson.  I understood before what his job was.  From the details I just learned now though, it made me want to know more.  Not many people got to experience what he has.  It triggered more begging questions to be answered.

"During your time of doing this, didn't it make you want something permanent?  Was there ever an appeal to settle down, find a wife, and have kids? Or if not kids, at least a friendly pet turtle or something?"

Glancing between him and the road, I also managed to look in the mirror and saw a truck far behind us.  It was the first time we had company on this road.  Then, from my side vision, I saw him glance back to me.  He was taking a moment to answer, considering this one carefully.  "I considered it but realized I wasn't much of a family man.  Or someone who needed to get married and settle down."

I nodded, understanding.  Some people didn't want what many people did.  I understood because I didn't want to have children.  The reason was quite different than most people's reason for not wanting kids though.  "You don't seem like someone who would be a family man."

I put my focus back on the road and the mirror, noticing the truck was speeding up.  I couldn't help my eye roll.  I would bet that when the truck gets close enough, it would pass us even though I was going fast enough.  People can act real retarded when they drive. 

Jackson managed to take my mind off it when he actually asked me a question, which I didn't see coming at all.  "You honestly don't seem like someone who would want to settle down either.  Am I right?"

I figured since he was being open, I could too.  "I would want to.  That doesn't mean I will."

After hearing my answer, it was as if he couldn't wait to ask me more.  There was so much curiosity in his voice while I continued eyeing the approaching truck.  Could it already be Carter and Luke?  I highly doubted it. 

"Is it because of your mother?" he asked.

I laughed at his words because he couldn't have hit the nail on the head more directly.  "Yes, actually.  I mean you heard about what she did to me.  It makes me scared that I will turn out the same way as her and the rest of her family.  It's... what the hell?" I muttered, unable to continue when my eyes zeroed in on the mirror. 

The truck was right behind us now, and whoever was in control of it was driving like an asshole.  Seeing the red truck hovering close to my bumper, it made me wish they would just pass me.  Or die from being a massive dickface.  "What the fuck is this?  I hate people," I growled.

However, it wasn't a second after the words left my mouth that I could feel my face go slack and pale with realization. 

These weren't random hicks that decided to be immature douche bags.  This was the fear that I held in my bones since yesterday.  And now, it was happening!  Somehow, they found us already!  I could do or say nothing, think nothing else, before the grey truck swerved over into the other lane, speeding up next to us. 

"Jackson," I warned loudly.  My heart dropped and a hollowness flooded me.  Eyes wide and my head snapping between the road and the truck, I saw the truck steady its speed with us.  It was even with us now!  And I didn't know what to do! The truck's windows were open like ours and I saw two men.  The one driving was focused on the road while the one in the passenger seat closer to us stared at me with a dark seriousness.

Everything that happened after that was a flash, a blur that occurred within only a matter of seconds. 

Jackson shouted but whatever he said was lost.  Everything blurred like a daze!  I was already on such edge that I knew I had to do something.  Especially when I saw the man staring at us raise his hand into sight, holding a gun!

"Fuck!" I slammed on the brakes as hard as I could.  Jackson's arm shot out in front of me, trying to keep me in place from the jerk that the brakes caused. 

The things that happened after that blurred much faster.  Probably because it got worse, faster, and all I could think was that I didn't want us to die!

Tires screeching at the same time as my wide eyes took in the red truck racing ahead without us, all I could do was grip the wheel tight with shaky hands.  We ended up skidding onto the shoulder next to a deep ditch, but I kept the SUV as straight as possible. Not a second later though, before we could even come to a complete stop, the sound of our screaming tires was interrupted. 

There was a roar from behind us, the sound of another vehicle swiftly approaching.  It disappeared when it reached us and side-swiped against my side, warping the steel inward towards me before I could think!  Our tires, my scream, and Jackson's yelling was drowned out instantly by the loud scratching as well as the noise of bending metal. 

However, that and the rough jerking vibrations only led to the real horror of it all.  As the flash of this black truck slid roughly against us, it was such a force that it pushed us closer to the steep ditch!  By the time it was gone and speeding past us, it did it's damage in that one second.  By side-swiping us, it pushed us enough to make the weight of the SUV do the rest. 

"Hold on!" Jackson shouted as a sick sensation filled me.  Filled me roughly because this wasn't good!  We were tilting and falling, and it was the longest moment that lasted in the horror of everything! I could feel the weight leave my body as I was moving upwards and to the right!  Oh god no! This can't happen!

Gravity sped our descend into the ditch.  My body was yanked out of the seat towards Jackson's side.  The belt kept me in place, even with the sudden jerk when the SUV landed on it's side.  Landed on Jackson's side and his open window!  The impact made me grunt in pain from where the belt dug in but the loud cracks of the windshield drowned that out.  I felt some glass hit me but only half the windshield was in pieces; the rest was cracked but still in place. 

My eyes scrambling under me to where he was, all I could see was the standing water from the ditch rush in through his open window.  Thanks to gravity and the car landing on its side, there was enough water to cover most of his body.  He and I both knew though that we had no time.  We needed to move!  Get out of here!

Jackson rushed and managed to get his belt off, struggling upright.  He kneeled on the frame of the open window, the water now just above his kneecaps. I was tussling with my own strained placement in the belt, needing to get loose, get out!  "Oh god, oh god, oh god!" I stuttered under my breath.

He reached up and wrapped his arm under me to hold me up from being strained since there wasn't much space between us.  I could feel him try to unlatch my belt but I quickly managed to click the button first, making me fall not even a foot over him and towards the water.  His arm already around my upper body, the rest of me swung down into the water with a splash.  There was no getting comfortable though by the time I was on my knees with him!  The men from the two trucks that raced ahead would be coming back! Jesus, was this even happening now?!

"How many do you think there are?!" I hissed while we both were scrambling.  I twisted around him towards the glove-box partially under water and snagged the gun there.  He reached above us and took the one that we kept under the driver's seat.  That was all I cared about, that we had a way to defend ourselves.  Now, we needed to leave!  "It's nearly dark, we can get out and get away," I said, gripping his arm as I tried shifting to the large opening in the windshield. 

He wasn't having that though and pulled me back close to him.  He looked to Vic for a millisecond, who was passed out with a heavily bleeding head.  He was slumped against the long back seat, half of his bound self propped in the water from where the passenger side back window broke too.  At least we didn't need to deal with him!  Oh what dandy relief that gave me so I could relax! 

Jackson  glanced back to me.  "No time to leave.  We need to fight!" he hissed quietly at the same time that we could hear their nearing footsteps above us on the road! 

Oh Christ no!  It drew my eyes up and above us towards the driver's side open window, which faced the sky and the hill of this ditch.  The sun was below the horizon but there was enough light left to see they weren't in sight - yet!  We still had time, right?  We needed to get out of here, somehow, someway! 

"Stay where you are until I say!" he ordered in a rush, cocking his gun and staring above our heads at the upwards facing and open window.

"Until you say what?! No!  We need to go! We're trapped and when they get here, that will make this worse!"  At least right now, we had time to get out!  Wasn't that better than being stuck in a car, in a ditch, and surrounded!?

Shifting around him, I knew we needed to get out of here!  Aiming my gun towards the rest of the windshield that was cracked but still in place, I leaned back as far as I could to fire. 

Jackson's hand clamped hard around my arm that was raised with the gun before I could shoot.  His eyes were fire and when he spoke, I never such heard power in his voice.  "Stay until I say you can run out and up the other side of this ditch!  You stay low under me until I tell you!" 

Hearing the footsteps shuffling above us now, he didn't wait for my response.  He gripped the steering wheel with his free hand, pulling himself up and propping his shoulder against the driver's seat.  It made me scrunch down further into the water from where he was hovering over me.  I watched him rest his booted foot against the gearshift.  Then, he raised himself more until his top half was up and through the window.  Instantly, I heard shots go off!

I went lower in the water, shifting towards the dash quickly before I looked out the broken windshield and up the side of the ditch.  I caught the flash of someone tumbling down into the ditch in front of the car.  It was clear Jackson shot him when he landed a few yards in front of the tilted SUV with a final splash.  Gazing back up and towards the road, I could see a few more figures approaching the edge of the ditch.  I could only hope there weren't too many men!  It was only those two trucks, right?

The world started to swim around me at the sound of more shots going off.  And even though those shots caused the men on the road to drop to the ground dead, I was scared shitless!  Jackson couldn't move much, dodge, or anything!  I witnessed the only thing he really could do when my eyes shifted up to his body over me.  And that was of him ducking back into the car at the shots being fired back his way!  The sound of bullets hitting the car made me duck down in even more worry over him.

"Stop!" I shouted up at him.  There had to be a better way of him doing this, right?

He didn't answer and was frozen for a moment when the bullets stopped.  In it's place were enough voices yelling at each other to make me want to shit myself!  It sounded like there was many more people, especially with how many footsteps and shuffling noises we could hear.  Oh god, how were we going to get out of this?

The answer was harsh because clearly, it didn't mean running away yet.  Jackson forced himself to launch his top half out the window again and shoot excessively.  Watching him duck back down then up, over and over, trying to take them down, I forced myself to get a grip.  I needed to help, I needed to help him, and I needed to do whatever I could to get out of this alive.  I wasn't staying under him and waiting like he told me to!  Not when I could spot several more men through the windshield; imagine how many more there were that I couldn't see? 

I eased my way as far down as I could into the slimy water, hoping to not be seen yet.  My head and my hand holding the gun was the only thing out of the water as  I maneuvered my legs under the glove-box.  Squeezing my legs to kneel against the door panel while being covered by the glove-box, I felt much safer.  That along with the dash blocked most of me when I leaned against it to peek out the windshield opening.  The figures on the road were harder to see but they were visible.  Enough for me to stretch my arms out on the dash and aim the gun towards them with intent.  I didn't hesitate, not when there were more men and they were shooting towards Jackson!

I started shooting immediately, first towards the man who was closest to us that Jackson didn't hit yet.  Gun kicking back slightly with my shot, in the next second I saw the bullet hit who I was aiming for.  It dropped him to the ground and killed him.  I was quick to fire again at another who was nearing the shoulder of the road with intention.  And just as I shot him too, Jackson wasn't the only  taking a notice!

"Get down!" I could hear him shout at me over the bullets, not approving of my help.  I had enough sense though as I eyed the men carefully.  A few of them turned their attention towards me.  Before they started to fire at me, I flung myself down and out of view, half going under the water.  Though I could hear bullets zipping all over, one bullet's destination was obvious.  A shatter reached my ears and without looking up, I knew the part of the windshield still holding its place busted.  A wave of glass fell towards me and the bottom of the ditch, piercing the water around me.  I had no time to assess the stings it caused my skin. 

Once the ring of the shatter left, the gunshots returned more clearly to my ears but they weren't flying towards me.  When I cautiously rose back up, gun already pointed out the windshield, I realized I not only killed a few men.  I was also a good enough distraction that it allowed Jackson to easily put bullets in the ones that put their focus on me.  It encouraged me to keep going, keep firing towards the men, and I did. 

It turned into a quick blur of shooting at anyone I saw.  Even though it was becoming darker outside, I managed to take down a few more people.  But just because they were going down didn't mean we would get out of this.  That realization hit me after a few minutes of shooting then ducking out of the way.  Because somehow, I saw even more people.  More people move out of the shadows and into sight!  And oh man, that wasn't good!  There were plenty more than two truck-fulls here! 

What didn't help at all was that the more shots Jackson and I fired, the more they knew where we were firing from!  That became clear when I tried moving up to shoot another advancing asshole.  Just as I barely peeked up above where the glove-box and dash were blocking me, a bullet crossed above my head where I was about to rise!  It made me duck back down roughly.  Then more bullets crossed my vision after I ducked.  They shot through the passenger seat that was not a foot from me.  It made me stay down for good just like Jackson was shouting and commanding of me the whole time.

Seeing how bad it was getting, it would only be a matter of time until Jackson gets shot when he emerges after ducking like I nearly did!  The overwhelming number of people didn't help either!  More shouts, more bullets too! Oh my fucking god, we were screwed!  I needed to do something!

I tried forcing my mind to work but it was hard.  Bullets zipping in all directions, I cringed with each sound it made when hitting the SUV.  "Too fucking many," I trembled out on instinct, taking deep breaths.  Turning and tucking myself slightly more into the leg space, I leaned my back against the console with Jackson boot a foot away on the gearshift.  I don't know where any feeling in me went while I was shooting at them but now, it all came rushing back in me.  The most dominate was fear and it was fear over so many different things! 

I couldn't take this and knew fear wouldn't help me.  Therefore, I forced my mind to move since my body didn't have much of a choice!  All I wanted to do was shoot back or run and I couldn't!  It would ensure death!  Fuck, more bullets kept flying in through the windshield!  What should I do?!  What can I do?!  I needed to think of something, do anything!  I had to do anything that wouldn't result in him dead and me a prisoner!  But jesus what was there?! 

The bullets, Jackson constantly ducking back down, and my own body shaking didn't help.  But when an idea finally hit me, it stuck and made me determined.  I had to try - and I had a chance too once the bullets stopped coming in from the windshield opening.  Jackson was holding them off still and it gave me a chance!  That chance screamed at me to take it!

Where is it?! Gritting my teeth, I wedged my gun between the passenger seat padding and the console.  Then, I moved away from the leg space I was using to help protect me.  Scrambling through the shallow water, I let my eyes shoot in every possible direction.  Of course, I knew that wouldn't be enough.  I had to move, I had to look and thoroughly search!  Please please be here! 

"Please, please, oh fuck! Please," I screamed out, but my useless and instinctual begging was drowned out by Jackson's firing.  I felt the SUV shift as I shuffled on my knees, letting my hands race along the door and window frame beneath me in the water.  Nothing.  I knelt up by Jackson's body and let my fast hands run under the passenger's seat, in the glove-box, under the driver's seat, the driv-- yes!  Oh yes!

Eyes widening at the familiar feel of the phone, I strained up to grip it from where it must have landed against the side of the console on the driver's side.  Taking it with me as I slid back down in the water low on my knees, facing the dash, I managed to work the device with shaky hands.  The hope, the fear, the anticipation, and the loud shots in the air made me want to cry when I managed to dial Luke's number.  Please, hurry!

Breathing hard, holding the phone hard to my ear, I waited for what seemed like forever!  It sure didn't help that I had to press my free hand against my open ear to block out the noises.  Shaking hard and harder as it rang, wanting to hear his safe voice so badly, I felt ready to break in half!  Pick up, pick up, pick up please!  I need to tell you what's going on!  I need your help! Mostly, I needed you to be safe and cautious if you can help!

When he did answer, his voice was so calm.  My eyes scrambling all around me widened as I took him in through the phone.  "Hello?"

"Luke!" I shrieked out, ready to break down.  I was shaking and unable to remain still.  Hearing more shots fired, hitting the exterior of the car, I flinched down more toward where the water was resting at my stomach.  "T-T-They found us! We're in a ditch!" I screamed into the phone as quickly as I could despite my terrible shudder.

I'm sure the guns going off didn't help him hear but it made it worse for me to hear him.  I couldn't make out what he was shouting back through the phone but it was clearly in panic. Regardless, it wouldn't have mattered. 

A hard force from behind me pushed me sideways and into the water before I knew what was happening.  The phone jostled from my hand and went flying but nothing but my own life was on my mind when it all occurred in a second!  It wasn't until my whole body and face was under the shallow water that I realized what was happening!

Oh god no!  That's all I could shout in my head! NO!  The suffocating warm and now deadly ditch liquid took all of me!  The heavy weight of someone pushed me hard into the water and onto my stomach, pinning me there! A rough hand pressed my face down against the passenger door and I was screaming the moment it all happened without thinking. It let the air rush from my lungs and escape a few inches above me where I knew there was air!  Air I was now deprived of because of someone was holding me down and under the water!

I shut my mouth a second later, knowing I needed it.  I needed anything I could to keep me from drowning!  No, no, no, no, fucking fuck NO!  My body squirmed, bucked, and tried moving out from whoever was over me the second I was submerged in the shallow water!  Shallow water!  Fuck, I just needed to lift up a bit and then I could breathe!  I tried moving, getting out from under him, my hands scrambling all along the car window and door for something to help!

Then, it got worse than needing to breathe. A pressure was already building in me from my need of air and the weight over me but there was more now!  My throat was constricted when I felt cables wrapping around my neck and--- VIC! It's Vic! And he wasn't showing mercy.  Holding me down into the water hard, he tightened the bungee cables that he had become all too familiar with!  Now, they were around my neck and assisting him in killing me!  I could feel my face want to explode!

No, no, air, air, air! I needed air!  I bucked and struggled harder under him, the pressure building!  My hands reached up behind me and into the air my system so desperately needed.  I tried, tried so hard to grab him and drag him off from behind me!  And though my free and desperate hands managed to grab at his clothes and skin, I couldn't get him off!  Couldn't! Couldn't save myself! Oh! The air is right there!  Right above me!  No, please, please no!

My hands returned down to me in the water, shaking and struggling, scrambling and moving anywhere!  I didn't stop shaking and trying to escape from under him but it took much more effort.  I felt a blackness near me and I could feel how close I was to Vic draining the life out of me!

Then, my hands caught the corner of a large triangular piece of glass from the shattered windshield.  And when I did, knowing I was losing with each second, I put all my power behind what I did.  Gripping the sharp piece, allowing it to dig open my palm, I put all my weight and strength into flinging my arm back to where I knew he was over me and behind me.  I felt the glass pierce into him deeply.  Then, above through the water, I heard more than just muffled gunshots.  I heard a distinct and brutal grunt that only complimented what followed. 

Pushing through the unbelievable pressure and now pain in my hand, I felt him jerk away instantly and fall off me.  It's all I needed!  My hands returning under me, I launched myself up and out of the water!

The air rushed back into me and it was the most wonderful sensation!  Oh god yes!  I could breathe - and I sure did!  Gasping and weezing hard and uncontrollably, I didn't allow myself to relax.  I rushed and scrambled to sit up so I was no longer in that vulnerable position on my stomach.  Turning and feeling the mass of a body next to me, I stared down at it.  Though it was very hard to see, the twilight skies were still there to help my eyes. 

Vic laid on his side against the door panel in the water, breathing almost as hard as me.  Pushing myself as far away as I could from him, I took in his gasping lips along with half of his body that was under the water.  I saw where the glass punctured through him.  He was shakily grasping at his chest where blood was spilling through his cream shirt and into the water.  Along with his eyes tightly shut in pain, I knew I made one lucky and critical stab.  It was a good thing I put that amount of force behind the glass.  Otherwise, I'm sure it wouldn't have went as deep and it wouldn't have done the damage I was staring at.

Breathing hard, the gunshots that rang clearly now in my ears were easy to ignore.  It was easy to ignore Jackson above us, who was still successfully holding them off for now.  It was easy to ignore everything, even the unblieveable pain my body was going through - including my hand.  All I cared about at the moment was the man struggling a few inches away from me in the crammed space. 

I might die or be taken tonight.  But if that happens, I will at least know I claimed a small victory right here and right now.  What pushed me into action was his eyes opening and finding mine.  There was still intent and hate in that stare at me. That's all it took.  He wasn't going to do anything else to me and I was going to make sure of that!

I lifted my hand from the water, still holding the large and sharp piece of glass. I was tightly and shakily gripping it and saw the edges dug under my skin. Forcing myself to grip it even harder, I was in action in the next second.

Snapping my free arm and body forward, I gripped his side and pulled him forward.  I felt his weak arms try to hook me and get me back under as I flipped him onto his stomach but that wasn't happening.  Rushing over to him, gripping him hard to keep his stomach facing the water, I jumped up and onto his back, shifting to straddle him just like he did to me.  I wanted to give him a taste of what he did to me! 

But as I pinned him down with my weight, he had enough strength to keep his head above the water.  He managed to wedge his hands under him and prop himself up enough to hold his face above the water enough to breathe.  I wasn't playing around though.

Sitting up further on his back, I gripped the sharp and thick piece of glass harder with both hands now.  I swung it down hard and plunged it deep into his back, all the way until my fists around the glass touched his back.  It hurt - it hurt bad to stab him again like that as hard as I could.  My hands were ruined and nearly as bloody as his back.  Unlike him though, I was still alive at the end of our conflict.

Stabbing him in the back took all his energy away.  He slumped down into the water, face and all, on his stomach.  He stopped struggling fast once I held his entire body down.  There was no resistance after that and I knew the shred of life he held onto after I stabbed him again was gone.  He was dead. 

Though I killed Vic, we weren't close to being out of this fight.  Sagging back and off of the limp body, breathing hard and wincing, I glanced up to Jackson.  I saw how busy he was since he didn't even notice what was happening beneath him.  Focus aimed at shooting, ducking, and all else, his eyes never found mine.  I knew that wasn't a good thing because that only meant things were getting worse for him. 

That was obviously the case when the small light still in the sky showed me his left arm when he ducked back into the car.  It was bleeding bad and looked as if he had been shot.  The man sure didn't act like it from how persistent he was to take them all down.  It made me grab the gun I had wedged by the passenger seat without another thought. 

I had to do better to help him and was going to, whether he wanted me to or not.  I needed to get out of this vehicle like I originally wanted to first.  Not to run through; I wasn't going to leave Jackson here on his own.  Not when this was all because of me.

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Oooh... what do you guys think is going to happen?  I'm excited to write the next!  This one took me a  while because I tried to make it as easy for you guys to picture as possible so I really hope it worked. 

ALSO PLEASE please check out and like my Facebook page (link found in the bio).  It would really help me out and mean a lot to me.  I'm really trying to get support and likes because of the hard copy of Island Rush coming out soon.  But at the moment there is more stuff regarding this series haha.  Its where I post book news, upcoming chapter excerpts, surprises and just what's going on with me in life!