Escape

Escape~Ch. 7

          “Looks like you’ll have to. Meet up my way,” Liam muttered quickly. They all nodded.

          Jazz sucked in a deep breath, preparing herself. She shuddered as the last lock was undone, putting her weight on her left leg, ready to shoot forward. This was their only chance, and she wasn’t going to fail.

          The sun almost blinded Rebecca. Within seconds, she knew that Jazz wasn’t going to make it. The straggled cry as she rushed forward suggested that, and the fact that she was way behind. Liam did the taking out; with a quick kick, the man was on the ground, screaming. The man’s brown hair was flying everywhere as he shuddered on the ground. Liam took off.

          Rebecca skirted around the man, sprinting toward the left woods behind Jarrod’s house. Her erratic breathing spiked as she heard a sound that said their plan had failed.

          “Stop! Keep running, and this one dies!”

          Rebecca plowed to a stop, against her judgment, which was screaming “No! Keep running-- you're almost there! Freedom!” She could see Liam and Gwen doing the same thing. 

          With a shudder, she looked to see that the man had recovered fast, blood trickling down his face from his nose and mouth, right where Liam had nailed him. With a slightly crazed look in his eyes, he held Jazz by the hair, off the ground. He had one hand posed around her neck, ready to strangle her at a moment’s notice. He looked not a day over thirty; why he would waste his life on killing kids, Rebecca didn’t know.

          Jazz shot a look to each of them, clearly saying it. When they didn’t do anything, she mouthed, “go”.

          Without warning, Liam darted towards the man. Surprised, he stumbled backwards, his hands closing around Jazz’s neck a second later as Liam reached them.

          With an expert-looking kick, he dislocated the man’s shoulder. While the man shouted in pain, Liam grabbed Jazz and yanked her free, taking a mere second to tuck her under his arm before darting Rebecca’s way.

          “GO, GO, GO!” He screamed, motioning Gwen to hurry. She darted Rebecca’s way, all of them disappearing into the woods.

          Five minutes later of furious sprinting and dodging of trees, they all slowed to a stop, trying to hear anything at all. Nothing. No man crashing after them. No twigs breaking under feet. Just their heavy, shallow breathing echoed in the still woods.

          With a sigh, Liam crouched on the ground, laying Jazz on the ground. She sat up immediately.

          “I’m fine.” Surprisingly, her neck looked mostly unharmed. The man must’ve been too shocked to do much damage. Only a light purple tinge was streaked across her collarbone.

          “How’s your knee?”

          “It’s okay.” Rebecca took a deep breath, bracing herself, (she had never been great with blood) and looked at Jazz’s knee.

          It was bloody, but not as bad as Rebecca expected.

          “Good. We need to keep walking, he might catch up,” Liam said, picking Jazz up again.

          “I can walk,” she protested.

          “You need to heal. Plus, you barely weigh anything. So shut up and enjoy the piggyback.”

          Jazz blinked, finally wrapping her arms around Liam’s neck.

          “Thanks.”