Together

Chapter 1

"Hello? Is anyone there?" A few moments passed as James held his breath, but he was met with silence.

Right, because the psychotic murderer hiding in the alley is going to answer you.

He shook his head before continuing to make his way to the beat-up sedan waiting for him in the school parking lot. There was nothing to worry about. James was only a couple minutes from the car, he would make it there and laugh at his own paranoid mind. Served him right, hanging out with his uncle while the investigation of teenage murders went on.

The fence rustled again. Heart beating in his ear, James picked up his pace. He had nothing to worry about, but there was also nothing wrong with speed walking. He told himself that it wasn't because he was afraid, he just wanted to go to bed. Leaves rustled from somewhere to his left. Well, jogging would get him to bed even faster. As James beelined for the parking lot at a brisk jog, he mentally thanked the hours of running laps around the field coach had made him do. The grueling training had turned him into a good runner, which was an important asset to have as a quarterback. He was making good time, and before he knew it his car came into view. To his relief, James couldn't hear anything other than his own heavy footsteps and paced breathing. Maybe he was being crazy, running to his car at the slightest noise in the dark. He wasn't a 120lbs girl after all, and on top of the physique he had to maintain for football, his uncle had taught him self-defense from the moment James was old enough to walk. He wasn't helpless, but he also wasn't stupid, and his pride didn't stop him from admitting that if he was attacked by multiple individuals, or even just one person who happened to be carrying a weapon, he would probably be screwed. Years of work stories from his uncle proved to James that no one was above being hurt, and even then, he doubted Josh told him the worst of it.

When James' foot hit the parking lot pavement, relief started to wash over him. He was almost there. Unfortunately, the feeling didn't last very long. The sound of footsteps echoing off the surrounding buildings, out of sync with his own, sent James into a sprint. He fished his keys out of his pocket as his sedan got closer and closer, but so did the footsteps. Thanks to the echo he couldn't quite tell where they were coming from, but James knew one thing for certain; they were definitely getting louder. Heart in his throat, the final steps between James and safety disappeared. His car was right there, he just had to reach out to unlock the door and------

Something heavy hit James from the side. The unexpected weight knocked him down, and then the struggle set in. Dammit, how could he have been so stupid? James had been so focused on getting to his car that he had forgotten to look around him. Survival 101, be aware of your surroundings. Hell, that was just plain common sense, uncle would not be proud. Not that it mattered, at the moment he had to deal with the 200 pounds of jackass that was trying to pin him down.

Never let someone get you on your side or your stomach. If you do your just as good as beaten. Josh's words rang through James' head as he struggled to keep his hands free. Get him off without twisting to your side, easier said than done. The guy on top of him was damn persistent; he obviously knew what he was doing. He had already managed to immobilize James' legs by clamping around with his own, and his arms were quickly following. James bucked his hips up hard to try to dislodge his attacker. Apparently not anticipating the move, the man grunted as James' right leg slid free. It wasn't his dominant side, but a free leg was a free leg, so he proceeded to rear up his knee towards the man at full force, getting a decent hit on his weak spot. All's fair in the game of war, James thought as his attacker cursed and leaned slightly to the side. It wasn't enough to have him let go of his arms, but James saw an opening and he took it, bucking to push him off. He wasn't sure how, but among all the squirming James managed to lodge his foot in the crook of the man's upper thigh, so he locked his core and pushed with full force. The maneuver freed James enough to be able to sit up and put all of his weight into slamming his shoulder into the man's chest. Knock the wind out of them James, then get the hell out of there. Don't stick around to find out who's stronger, that would just be a sure way for your case to end up on my desk. He'd love to get the hell out of dodge, but his keys had been knocked out of his hands a while ago, and James had no idea where they fell, As the stranger coughed and tried to regain his breath, James went with plan B and took off at a dead sprint for the nearest residential area. Hopefully he would be able to find a house to let him in... If he even made it that far. The second pair of footsteps had resumed, but this time James knew the man was right behind him.

By this point, all coherent thoughts and football training had flown out the window. James was breathing hard, running at an unsustainable pace, faster than he'd ever gone before, but he powered through, adrenaline was a beautiful thing. James had no idea how long he had been running, but the man didn't seem to be able to catch up to him. He might just make it --- and of course, he spoke too soon. The screeching of brakes consumed the silence seconds before a dark van came barreling towards him, effectively fucking up his plan B. Think fast Finley. James veered right, narrowly avoiding getting tackled to the ground again. There were no houses in this direction, only local shops that would be closed at this hour. He may not be able to get someone's help, but at this point, James was willing to smash a store window just to get the cops alerted, consequences be damned. Unfortunately, he never got the chance. Within seconds the van was blocking his path again, this time with its back-sliding door open. The car's automatic interior light was enough to reveal a man worthy of being on the news for pedophilia waiting for him inside.

Not good. Not good. Not good.

James could feel the man behind him. He had played enough football to know when he was cornered. There was no possible way for him to change directions without being caught by his pursuer, but going straight would put him in a car with the pedophile dude. How the hell had his day come to this?

Well, one thing was certain, James should not get any closer to the van. As far as abductions went, getting yourself thrown in a car was definitely a big no-no. There was no way he was going down without a fight. James came to an abrupt halt, simultaneously turning himself around. His arm was up and ready to punch, the momentum from his core giving him more power. It wasn't skilled by any means, he knew that. But if his attacker was as close as James suspected he was, the punch would hit its mark. Hopefully, it would even do enough damage to give him a chance to run in a different direction. He would find a way to avoid the van after.

The entire act of spinning took mere seconds. As predicted, the guy was close enough to hit, but James had misjudged the jackass' height, and only managed to clip his jaw. It snapped his head to the side, but didn't stop him from barreling into James, tackling him to the ground. Again. Damn, it was a good thing he was the quarterback because he would be terrible on the offensive line. Luckily, he didn't seem to hit his head too hard, he would be screwed if he got knocked out. At this point, he just needed to rinse and repeat; James had managed to shake him off before, he could do it again. That is, at least, until pedo showed up in his periphery. His attacker wasn't trying to hit James, only hold him down, and that suddenly made sense when he felt a sharp sting on his thigh, immediately followed by a wave of dizziness. "Stupid brat", a foul odor hit James as warm air washed over his face, "I can't wait to watch you get your skull caved in". Then everything went dark.