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Lighthouses Can Be Dark
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Ricky swallowed hard as he let his eyes look out the window once more. His leg was shaking up and down from the floor of the airplane, just like Kim's had the night they drove to the warehouse. He could almost see Kim's face now. Picturing the moment when Jack told her what had happened while they were in the dojo. How Ricky had simply run out without an explaination, or even a text explaining where he was going.
But he couldn't tell them. He couldn't tell anyone. This was too big of information to blow by text. Or even by phone call. If he was to send a message, tell everyone back home what was going on, he risked messing up everything Jasmine had worked for. He knew, deep down, that Jasmine hadn't really meant those things that she had told him up on the roof. He knew there had to be another reason for her actions, even if she was brainwashed.
Just the fact that Jasmine had actually gotten Stockholm syndrome, blew his mind. She was smart, one of re smartest people he had ever known, actually. But not only that, he was still quite confused as to what had brought her back. Whether it be that Shane messed up within the last few days, or maybe a memory was brought to light since she had seen Ricky and Kim in person. He wasn't sure how any of this worked.
He was just happy he had Jasmine back.
But of course, even with all these happy go lucky thoughts he had running around in his head, there was still the utter fear that plagued him. Which, he knew Jasmine was feeling a more intense version of. She was the actual captive on the run. Neither of them really knew what Shane was made of.
They had seen him in action before, that much was true. But none of them, had seen just how evil he had become. By adding Jasmine to the few list of things the psychopath really cared about, only added fuel to the fire. His flower, using Shane's words, was running away. Who even knew if he had caught wind of it yet.
All Ricky was hoping for in the moment, was a chance to see Jasmine again. Alone, before all hell really broke lose. Shane was smart, he would eventually figure out what was going on. But for now, all Ricky had to do, was sit, and wait.
Because he was stuck on a four hour flight to Florida to save Jasmine. One of which he was only three fourths of the way done with.
This was the one mission where he was the most unsure of the ending.
Anything was possible.
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Jasmine sucked in a deep breath as she hugged her jacket in closer to her body. The wind was chilling as the small specs of rain began to fall from the sky. Everywhere, there were dark clouds as the rain slowly but surely moved in on the Florida coast.
She had been here two hours and forty five minutes. She had gotten in from her two hour flight, arrived without a bag, and left the airport immediately. She didn't care where she ended up, she just needed a place or two to hide until Ricky was able to come find her. She just wished that Shane hadn't figured out where she was yet.
All around, people were walking. Simply laughing, and having fun. All without a care in the world as they passed by the shaking girl that looked like she hadn't slept, or showered in more than a week. She was petrified with fear, almost paralyzed if she wasn't forcing herself to keep going. Yet, the general public had no clue who she was, or why she was acting so weird. She was a mess.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, taking her attention away from her now damp hair and the fact that she was on the run. The text from Ricky being the one thing that was keeping her sane. Otherwise, she was sure she would go crazy.
Almost to Florida
Jasmine squeezed her eyes shut as she continued walking along the thin sidewalk, avoiding those aimlessly walking around at this hour. It was almost eleven thirty. The sky was pitch black, leaving the street lamps quite the job. At least she had found her way to Main Street.
The people walking gave her a sense of feeling normal that she hadn't felt for the longest time. She had been such a shut-in for the last few months, she didn't know what it would feel like when she was to leave Shane. Normal, was something that Shane had deprived her of for so long now. She could barely remember who she was before all of this. Now, she was simply a kidnap victim with no sense of direction.
There was a loud bell ringing off at the end of the street, causing many people to stop and watch as it rang the time along with the clock. She was wrong in saying it was half past eleven. Turns out, it was midnight. The bewitching hour.
Creeks sounded along with the claps of thunder that continued to ring throughout the sky, leaving her feeling more ominous than anything else. A bright light flashed in the distance, something different than the lightning she had been witnessing since she had landed. There was a lighthouse only a matter of minutes from where she stood. Where else should she spend her time in waiting for Ricky?
Jasmine nodded to herself as she charged on, forgetting the rain, thunder, and anything else as she made her way closer and closer to the lighthouse. The lights faded as she left behind the busy city, somehow finding herself stuck within the many trees. Only making it harder for her to find her way.
She stumbled over the roots of the tall trees, glancing down to see her boots covered in sand. Only in Florida would she had pictured this happening. She kept on, forcing herself to continue despite her lack of breath. She needed to get to a shelter fast if she was going to throw off Shane for a little while longer.
Jasmine squinted, holding her hand just a bit above her eyes to block them from the wind tossing sand from side to side. She had somehow made it to the lighthouse untouched. Shocker.
She shook her head, running for the closed door and throwing it open. She swiftly made her way inside the small bottom portion of the lighthouse. She was half surprised it was open, but she was willing to deal with that later on. As she turned around to take a glimpse at what laid out before her, all she could see was darkness.
As the light on top of the house flashed from side to side, she could vaguely make out a stairwell, one that looked to old for any sort of use as of now. Off towards the back, stood a brick wall that was gray with dust. This place must have been around since lighthouses were invented.
Jasmine's heart skipped a beat as the door flew open, causing the girl to lunge behind the stairwell. She waited, holding her breath as she watched the figure slam the door shut behind, who looked to be a boy about her age. It could be Ricky.
The boy took out his phone, flipping on the flashlight as he flashed it around the small room. Jasmine caught his eye for only a second before he shook his head and made his way to the stairwell. The front of the stairwell, mind you.
He walked with heavy footsteps up the metal stairs, walking slowly as he checked every nook and cranny. Jasmine let out a small breath, quickly sucking in another one before his eyes darted back down to where she was hiding.
"My flower?" He echoed throughout the lighthouse. The two words sending Jasmine's heart plummeting into her stomach. This was the only thing she had feared. The one thing she had most wished to not happen. Somehow, it was happening. "I know you're in here." He tried again, continuing to slowly make his way up the stairs.
Jasmine shook her head, carefully standing from her place on the ground and quietly making her way to the other side of the room. She swiftly pulled up her location and snapped a picture for Ricky. Even if Shane caught her, at least Ricky would know where to find her body.
"If you come out now, I promise I won't hurt you." He mussed once more, almost sounding closer than he had before. Jasmine's heart was racing a mile a minute as she typed out a quick reply, just barely being able to hit send before something large came slamming against her back.
Jasmine grunted with the pain as she flew down to the ground, her phone slamming down along with her. An evil laugh could be heard all around the lighthouse as Shane took slow steps around Jasmine's laying form. He tossed his phone aside, the flashlight illuminating his face for Jasmine to see through her hair. His fingers clutched hard around the phone he had given to her just hours ago, picking it up for only a second before he hurled it at the wall. The item broke into about a million pieces before Shane turned his attention to his next victim.
"I was so stupid." He started with a chuckle as he knelt down at her side, brushing her hair away from her face gently before gripping his fingers into her forearm and jerking her up off the ground. His eyes were red with anger as he stared deep into her eyes. She almost wished there was no light in the place. She never had wanted to see Shane this angry with her again.
"Shane-"
"No!" He hissed. "Why did I trust you! Why did I give you so much freedom, when you clearly, didn't, deserve it!" He boomed throughout the house, pushing Jasmine roughly against the wall, grabbing onto her hair and scratching her face against the rugged bricks. Jasmine could feel the tears slipping out of her eyes as her skin broke against the brick.
This was it. This was the end.
"I'm sorry, Shane!" Jasmine wailed, wishing she had simply stayed with him. She could have easily avoided all of this.
"Oh my dear, you're not truly sorry. You're only sorry because you feel like it will all stop. You feel like two little words will take away your punishment. You, deserve everything, that's coming to you." He whispered gruffly in her ear.
The previous teen spy yanked the girl from the wall, causing her to stumble off towards the stairwell. She planted her hands firmly on the handrail to catch herself. Jasmine only turned for a second to see Shane was slowly making his creepy way towards her. In that split second, she decided to run.
She bounded up the stairs, almost taking them two at a time as she could feel her heart stop for complete minutes at a time. All the time that she raced up the stairs, she could see images of whoever she had loved before this. She could see Ricky's smile, hear Kim's laugh, or Delia's jokes and Garrett's words of wisdom. All while suddenly remembering the brutal ending that Eddie had faced after all of this. She wasn't going to simply be another one to fall under Shane's twisted regime. She was going to fight.
Jasmine spun around, just in time for Shane to catch her right foot and drag her down to his level. Her back slammed down against the metal, knowing in the back of her mind that she would have instant bruises along her back.
"Where are you going?" He guffawed sickly as he picked her up from under her arms, spinning her around and forcing her torso to lie roughly against the railing. Her breath left her as she looked down, half her body flailing off the edge of the rail. She had come so far, and now, she was wholeheartedly regretting it. "We haven't finished yet, my flower." He whispered, just loud enough for it to strike deep within the girl as she continued to look down to where she knew her life would end.
Shane pulled something from his pocket, the small clang sounding familiar as he pulled it together. Suddenly, a sharp chain gripped around Jasmine's neck, Shane pulling her towards him with the very necklace that he had given her just a little while before.
"Did you think you could just toss this aside!" He roared deep within her ears. Pulling it tighter and tighter against the girl's throat as the thunder continued to boom throughout the coast. "Did you think you could just leave me? Leave everything behind after I poured my heart out to you? Did you really think, it would be that easy!" He went on, tossing the chain aside and turning her to look at him head on.
"Shane-"
"No! I talk, you listen!" He howled. Jasmine swallowed hard as Shane made slow steps towards her. She matched every one of his steps before her lower back hit the railing once again. "If you really wanted to leave, my flower, all you had to do was ask." He hissed as he motioned towards the ground far below. Jasmine shook her head quickly, the tears stinging into her deep scratches that the bricks had left behind on her cheeks.
"Please don't do this." Jasmine whimpered as she glanced back behind her. At best she would hit her head and fall unconscious on the way down. At best.
"You, asked for it. Did you not? My flower-"
"Jasmine!" Ricky yelled from outside the lighthouse. He wasn't close, but he wasn't far either. Shane stiffened against her, his eyes piecing into her own as he whispered every so quietly to her.
"If you make even a sound, you're dead, far before even I had planned." Jasmine nodded, knowing in the moment what was best for her. Shane took in a slow breath as he wrapped his fingers around Jasmine right wrist for the last time.
"Ricky!" Jasmine screeched, causing Shane to drop his hold on her to cover his ears. She took her chance, lifting her right leg and swiftly kicking him in the stomach, forcing him off the edge of the stair. Shane, losing his footing, fell instantly down the large metal stairs. As he hit the bottom stair, a large knife slipped out of his large jacket pocket. This would be her one and only chance. Otherwise, Shane would carve her long after she was really gone.
She sucked in a breath before quickly running down the steps, kneeling down and picking up the knife just as Shane had flipped over from his hard frontal hit to the ground. His eyes grew wider as the seconds went on. He knew what was coming. He just hadn't expected it. The boy began to shuffle away from his previous victim.
"Jasmine. My flower." He got out through a coughing fit, one that reminded Jasmine of her own the first few days she was with him. "You don't want to do-"
He was cut off as Jasmine jutted the knife deep into Shane'a stomach. She felt sickened as the feeling of the knife hitting into his stomach coursed through her. She could feel the tears falling in puddles down onto the ground as she backed away from the scene. Shane laid there, grasping at what little life he had left.
"My flower." He moaned as he tossed his hands out in front of himself, lying on his stomach as the blood poured out of him.
Just as she dropped the knife a good five feet away from Shane, her back hitting the wall, the door flew open to reveal the one and only. Ricky sucked in a large breath, the light from the storm outside illuminating the grusome scene. It was enough light for Ricky to see, and know, just how it had ended.
"Ricky." Jasmine sniffles, her hands shaking so bad she could barely keep ahold of herself as she tossed her arms around him. Ricky held her close, pulling her in even closer as he took a better look at what had happened. This could have ended so much worse. But instead of seeing Jasmine lying dead on the ground, there, at the center of the lighthouse, was Shane's cold, dead body. That was one thing they had all been waiting to see.
"I'm so sorry." Jasmine cried into his chest, bunching up his t-shirt within her bloody fingers as the sobs took over the broken girl. Ricky shook his head as he bag to rub her back soothingly, watching as the red pool only grew at the center of the room.
"Don't worry Jas." He whispered. "It's going to be okay."
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~Shay