Meet Me Halfway (EDITING)

Chapter 25: Losing One to Gain One

Vince's mouth stayed open in awe and shock, heaving in air - double the amount of air each second, almost like the time you panic when you swallow a grape whole. Sweat formed from the mixture of his hair and skin, and he stood still for the next approximate ten seconds.

The loud noise blared and echoed deep in his ear. He watched in front of him as Jerry knelt and then fell to the ground instantly, falling head-first with his flat body on the dirt. Blood oozed from under his shirt, and all of a sudden the blood stains from Chuck seemed clearer than they were before.

Vince couldn't even understand how Jerry could fit into Chuck's clothes, although now they were stretched. But that didn't matter one bit now.

Vince stood still in the tangled rope and was only distracted by the smell of rain. He tried jerking his head around both sides of the tree, but couldn't budge. He grew rope burns and mini blisters on the palm of his hands and he became so awfully sweaty he was starting to stick to the tree.

"Hello? Who was that?" Vince whispered, glimpsing out into the forest. Nothing but birds sweeping by and leaves falling off trees came back in return. He now felt as if his heart was beating triple the amount of times it should in a single minute. His mouth made the perfect shape of an 'O.'

"Hello?" He repeated, his voice getting louder now. A footstep shuffled and rummaged through leaves and sank in the moist dirt behind him. Vince's ears pricked and he threw his head back against the tree, bumping it unexpectedly.

The footsteps continued to approach him, making thuds into the earth. Who was here now? Vince thought. He felt more annoyed than scared now. He knew today was his day. He was pretty much on the outskirts of town, alone with probably a gang of kidnappers, ready to collect him and drag him somewhere else.

"Vince?" A young voice asked in response, sending a sudden chill down Vince's spine. The thrill and suspense now got to his head. It was a rather deep and low voice, but familiar. Vince was mute for the next second, and out came a rather slim but fit boy.

He was a bit taller than Vince and had long skinny arms with hardly any flesh on them. He had a flat stomach and almost had what looked like a hunchback. His jet black hair fell in his face, into his admiring hazel eyes. His mouth remained open, although diminished by his perfect cheekbones. He had very long eyelashes and soft lips. Not to mention, he was much better looking than Vince himself.

Underneath his eyes sat, small but droopy purple bags. Vince could tell from this the boy obviously hadn't slept in a while.

The boy stood still, both his hands cupped inside what looked like the same gun as Jerry had. It sat heavily in his hands, trembling as movement started to occur in his body. He had a large but light looking bag around his shoulder, and he looked rather dirty; dirty enough to tell he hadn't had a shower in a while. His clothes were a bit torn at the edges, almost as if a wild animal in a cage had just caught him before releasing him.

"Oh my God," Vince said presently as his stomach consumed all he had for breakfast. The boy looked back at him with a terrified look on his face. The gun still lay perfectly still in his hand and the boy dared not to look at the man lying on the ground.

"Jack, is that you?" Vince looked the figure up and down without judgement. Impressed with his new discoveries, a small genuine smile appeared on his lips. The boy nodded, and a small smile suppressed against his also. Jack dropped the gun beside his feet and ran to the tree as if he were trying to escape something like he did at Jerry's house.

He tugged at the rope, clambering through the twists and knots. He looked up at Vince slowly when he finished the unravelling of the rope. Vince felt for his wrists, running a finger along the coarse rashes that had grown.