Long Run

10

I was up at 6am to get dressed and ready for the move.  By the time I made my way downstairs, there were already gang members moving boxes outside and loading them into a truck.  I stood at the end of the staircase and scanned the room for a familiar face, eventually spotting Jason walking over to me.  He took my hand and led down the last step.

"Good morning," he greeted, kissing my hand.

I continued looking around at all the chaos.  "Good morning, should I start carrying boxes out?"

Jason shook his head. "No, they've got it. Why don't you grab some breakfast, there's pancakes already made," he started walking toward the kitchen, my hand still in his.

I stopped us in our tracks though. "Jason, I can help," I told him.

"I know, but you don't need to. They're almost done anyway, and then we'll be leaving.  Our car is on the way."

"We're not riding with out stuff?" I questioned.

"There's not much space, and we're only driving to a small airport where I've arranged a flight for just us and our things" he explained.

I just nodded along, finally following him into the kitchen to have breakfast.  As I ate, I watched everyone load up the rest of the boxes into the truck. Jason was right that they were nearly done, they finished before I was done eating. Jason was just talking to the driver, probably to make sure everything was in there and talking about the route or something.

I placed my dishes by the sink and walked over to the door where Jason was now coming back inside.  "The car is here, you ready?" he asked.

I nodded, going outside and climbing in the backseat with Jason and buckling up.  It felt weird getting in a car to move to a new house once again, I had grown use to this one and even though it didn't feel like home, it was comfortable.

We hadn't been driving long before the car came to a sharp halt. I looked out the window and noticed we weren't at a stop light or anything, but rather in the middle of nowhere.  Jason noticed this too and leaned forward to the driver.

"Why are we-" Jason couldn't even finish his sentence before the car was hit from behind, forcing us forward.  "Step on it!" Jason yelled.

"I can't, there's gunmen hiding out there," the driver responded.  I looked out the window again, searching through the trees and spotting one on my side.  

"I don't care, I'll handle it," Jason said, grabbing a bag form under the seat. Suddenly, I heard a pop and the car started to sink on the right side; a tire was blown.  My heart was racing, not understanding what was going on.  I did, however, notice the truck driving straight toward us.

"Truck!" I yelled, pointing forward to get everyone's attention.  It was too late though, and the truck hit us head on.  My head jolted back and hit the seat, glass flying everywhere.  I squeezed my eyes shut and held my hands up to protect my face.

I began to panic, everything just kept getting worse and worse.   I looked over at Jason who was on the phone.  He looked back at me, worry in his eyes.  "Are you okay?" he asked me.  I just nodded, still in shock.  "Unbuckle, we have to get out of here," he instructed, then saying something into the phone as I obeyed.

Jason put his phone away, but before he could do anything else, his door opened and a man punched him in the face. I screamed, not even noticing my door was opened as well until hands were wrapped around me and pulling me out of the car.

Whoever was holding me was strong, and I struggled a bit to loosen their grip.  Finally, I had enough room to elbow them in the stomach, getting them to let me go.  Without hesitating, I swung my leg back and kicked them as well, then threw a punch to their face and knocking them over.  I shook my hand in pain, never realizing how much it would hurt to punch someone with my bare hand and full force. I was really thankful to have trained all these weeks now.  Before I could even think, another man grabbed my arm.  I tried to punch him as well, but he caught my hand instead.  I kneed him in every man's weak spot, causing him to yell in pain and let go.

I heard a gun shot and my head snapped in Jason's direction.  Luckily, Jason was the one holding a gun, the man who punched him lying on the ground.  Because I was distracted, the same man from before grabbed me once again, but this time Jason shot him, making me jump.  He ran over to me, shooting the man who had originally grabbed me as well before he could get up. My eyes widened, I'll never adjust to seeing such violence.

Jason grabbed my arm, "Did he hurt you?"

I shook my head.  "I'm fine, but...your cheek!" my eyes focused on the cut he had from the punch, blood dripping down his cheek.

"It's nothing, we have to get out of the road," he said, pulling me to the side of the road and the two of us kneeling behind some bushes.  Jason shot another man who came out of one of the cars the hit us, and who knew how many more there were.

Another car pulled up and Jason checked his phone before putting it back away.  "That car is ours, let's go.  And quick!" He instructed.  We both stood up and bolted towards the car, Jason still keeping watch as we got inside.  Before I could even grab the seat belt, the car sped off and away from the scene.