Project L-137

Chapter 23

I stood up from the floor and looked at Jack directly in the eye. "What are you doing here," I said in an angry voice.

"Well, I came to kill you. Isn't that obvious?" He asked in a sarcastic voice. I let my eyes wander away from him and to the mirror that showed me and Lydia hiding behind the bed.

"She can leave. I only came for you Amber," He said. I looked back at him and without breaking eye contact I said, "Lydia, go."

She stood up from her crouching position and looked at me before leaving. As soon as she was behind Jack, he turned around and aimed at her leg and pulled the trigger. "Or not," He said with an evil smile on his face. I tried to run over to Lydia, who was on the floor, screaming, and grabbing her bloody thigh. He turned back to me and aimed at my chest. I stopped in my tracks.

"Jack, Please. Let her go and you can do whatever you want with me. Please," I begged. He looked at my face and could tell that I was telling the truth. "Fine. She can leave," He said. I looked down at her and gave her a small nod. She managed to get up from the floor and limp quickly out of the room. I stood there until I heard the door that led to the stairs slam shut. After that I tore my eyes away from the red stain on the floor and gave Jack an angry look while I had my eyes narrowed at him.

"What do you want?" I asked. He gave a small laugh before responding, "Well. For one thing, I want the reward they are offering for you. But the main reason I came was to get you back," He said, lowering the gun to my waist and putting his other hand on my waist. He pulled me close to him.

"If you come with me, I may think twice before giving you to the labs. You and I can probably have a normal life. I have enough money to get us out of here. Go to Europe and escape this mess," He whispered in my ear. He retracted his head to look at me.

"Go to hell," I said through gritted teeth. I managed to punch him, forcing me out of his grip. He stumbled back and as soon as he did, I ran as fast as I could out of the room. I ran to the door that led to the stairs and then heard the loud bang echo through the hallway. I felt the bullet graze my side and I fell to my knees. I gripped my side, trying to stop the bleeding but I couldn't stop the scream from coming out and the pain from spreading up and down my body. Jack walked over to me and picked me up with one hand. He shoved me against the wall and had his hand around my throat, loose enough to let me breathe. He pointed the gun at my head and inched his face close to mine. Our noses touched.

"Guess I'll just have to take you to the labs. I really wish you made this easy for me Amber. I like you. But I like myself more," He said. I shoved my foot into his crotch and he let me go. He still had the gun in his hand and he aimed at my thigh and shot me. I fell down to the floor.

"You know, you're a fighter. But that won't save you now," He said, coming over to me. He let his feet pin my legs to the ground and had one wrist pinned to the ground. I struggled to get him off of me. He punched me across the face.

"You're crazy!" I screamed. He kept hitting me across the face until I felt the warm substance on my lip and nose. He stopped when he heard that.

"I'm not crazy! I'm surviving. And I don't care what it takes," He screamed in my face. I tried getting him off of me again but when he felt that he put his hands around my throat.

"I gave up my family. My friends. Peyton, Cameron, and Layla, just to get out of here. I don't care if I have to give you up too," He said with a crazy look in his eyes. I felt his hands tighten around my throat, blocking the air from entering. I scratched at his arms and I finally managed to get to his face. That's when he let go of my throat. He grabbed his gun and pointed it at my head. I was coughing and gasping for air.