Isolated

Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Jackson was close. Carter was dead. And we were fucked.

Pacing the bare living room, the streaks of sunlight on the carpet consumed my gaze. It was the same carpet Jackson stepped foot on not long ago. Just thinking about him gave me chills, made me cringe. What was worse was knowing he took away Carter, our best shot at finding the headquarters.

My hate for the son of a bitch amplified. Jackson wasn't just in my nightmares anymore. He was back – and he kept his promise. After all, 'a deal is a deal.' That's why there was no question about it. Even though we couldn't find his body, we knew Carter... was murdered. Jackson either killed him then kidnapped him, or the other way around. Bottom line: the guy was dead. Though I couldn't feel remorse for him, it sent a great deal of shock over me. One minute he was here, the next he's dead.

That could be Luke and I at any time. That nearly had been us several times.

Panic quickly dominated the shock. Him dead would cause us big problems. Big problems. This completely fucked things up – bad enough that our entire goal might have just been shat on. I nearly stormed out. It was overwhelming. Unfair. Jesus fucking Christ. How much more did we need to go through? And how many times do I need to ask myself that question?! Bullshit, such bullshit!

My head was pounding. Body restless. Where do we go from here? God, why did this have to happen? He was our one link – the one god damn link – to the headquarters and he was snatched away. I couldn't even bring myself to ponder over ways to fix this new problem. I only wondered how we could make this whole thing stop.

When one a potential option reached me, my mind ran with it. Clenching my jaw, I turned on my heels, walking the length of the room again. For the first time after several silent minutes, I glanced over to Luke. He was sitting in the crappy chair by the ghetto computer setup. Hunched forward, his face was buried in his hands.

"We need to bail," I said. "You can go back to your life in Ohio. Live a great life and stop hiding. They won't bother you; they are after me. I'll start my own life... somewhere far away. These identities have kept us hidden so far; it can be my permanet new life. Jackson stayed hidden and they never found him."

The thought was compelling – and we could absolutely do it. We could part ways and stay alive. Like I said, they still haven't found us and we were only hours away from their headquarters. Going our separate ways would ensure safety. We would live. Plus, Luke could move on with someone he could have a real future with.

However, the reality of my idea was powerful. More powerful than my unprepared mind was ready for. The idea was more than heartbreaking. It was a punch to the gut.

Walking back and forth, I forced my eyes down. My teeth sunk into my bottom lip. Parting from Luke... Jesus. Thinking about it enforced the pain it would give me – more pain than I expected. I always knew that after this whole thing, we would probably go our separate ways. The awareness of that always bothered me. But the difference... was that this idea required immediate action. We needed to bail from this whole thing and part ways right now. Fuck, it did not feel good. If I was being honest, I don't think I ever seriously accepted a future without him.

Hearing my plan, Luke lifted his head and leaned back in the chair. Red and stressed face drained of emotion, his eyes stayed on the floor. "No, we aren't doing that."

Though the prospect of staying together soothed my instant fast heart, I would not allow my feelings to shut down logic. Stopping my pacing feet, I faced him. "We have zero chance of succeeding without that asshole's help! We are fucked. What are we supposed to do? Start walking around in the woods, just looking for this place? No. Carter was our only hope to finding a connection or a sign. We will never find it now! Plus, it's too dangerous."