I was listening to this song the entire time I wrote this. xD I love it for some reason.
I feel like this really was a great chapter to write. I enjoyed it a lot. ^.^
By the way, I've started reading the AWESOME book "The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton in school. :D I downloaded the movie for it. :D I'm DEFINITELY gonna watch it tonight. ^.^
And also, the goal is once again 15 reads and 1 vote. :3 BAIIIIIIIIIIII.
By the way, this is dedicated to @justanothergeek AGAIN because she makes me laugh and smile and sometimes fangirl whenever she comments. ^.^ :D
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Chapter Fourteen
Eve felt her body being pushed up against the brick wall of the side of the apartment building, the alley so dark that she couldn't see the person's face. At least, she couldn't when he had his face covered by a hood.
She continued to scream through the person's hand, and the person had apparently had enough. “Shut the hell up!” They hissed through their teeth. She could now tell that it was a man with the deepness in his voice. Another sign was that he towered over her by about a foot.
He ripped his hood off, and Eve felt her heart stop. It was Jackson. Her father, Jackson. “What the hell did you tell him?” Her father hissed, his hand moving from her mouth down to her throat, pressing against it and leaving only enough room for her to speak.
“N-Nothing-” She choked out, her fingers trying to pry his hands from her throat.
He pressed harder, and lifted her farther up the wall, her feet no longer touching the pavement.
It had been dark before, being so late at night, but now it felt like the darkness was literally consuming her. She could still hear him, but her eyes were now clenched shut so that she could avoid seeing his monstrous face.
“Liar!” He yelled. “I saw the look on his face. He knows. He knows you're my daughter.” He hissed, acting revolted when he said 'daughter'.
She wanted to scream at him that it didn't matter, but he now pressed so hard that the only thing she could get out were choked gasps.
“He only wants you for the power. That's all.” He yelled. He sounded like a madman, half the words he was saying didn't make any sense. Why did it matter if anyone knew?
He hissed in anger, letting go of her and letting her drop to the ground. She didn't stand, but instead fell against the pavement harshly. She continued to gasp, coughing and writhing.
Jackson was standing a few feet away from her, his back turned to her. He began to hit both sides of his head, a gun in his left hand. He began to breathe heavily. Eve had been suspecting it for a long time now, but it was official. He really was insane.
He hit the left side of his head multiple times with the gun, growling at himself. “You ruin everything!” He hissed through his teeth.
She coughed again. “Well maybe if you hadn't hurt us to begin with you wouldn't have this problem!”
He swung around, stalking towards her and reaching her in less than two steps. He sent his left hand back, back handing her across the face and causing her neck to snap to the side, and making her hiss in pain.
She reached up to her face, touching her cheek and wincing. That would bruise, and badly. She slowly looked up at him, only to see the barrel of a gun pointed directly at her head.
*
Hannah had gone and looked for Eve, and no one could find her. With each minute passing, Murphy as getting more and more worried. She could be dead right now, or in the process of dying.
No one could find Jackson either, so it was now almost confirmed that he was with her. He had let the Town Hall right after Murphy did, and no one had seen him until he went to the armory. The main thing that worried Murphy the most was that he had been seen going into the building empty handed... But he came out with four handguns and pistols.
Murphy stayed close to the buildings, making sure that his hands were always on some type of weapon that he had there. He had two throwing knives, two loaded hand guns, and a machete. Murphy's weapon of choice at that moment was the knives. The last time he had practiced with Jay, he had hit both the heart and the head on the body-shaped target. Frankly, he would have no problem with killing Jackson.
He moved slowly, trying to make his steps very quiet. He could hear the majority of the sounds throughout the streets, as well as some of the sounds inside the buildings. He could hear it all very clearly.
Murphy kept walking until he reached another alley, the one beside Eve's apartment building. This got him suspicious, and his right hand wrapped its way around the handle of one of the knives, his other hand on the sheath. He slowed his slightly accelerated breathing, and listened closely.
“Be quiet.” He heard a hissing voice, and instantly recognized it at Jackson's.
Murphy slowly poked his head around the corner of the building, fighting the urge to kill Jackson right then and there. He saw him standing tall in front of the wall of the building, his right arm stretched out. His body was blocking something in front of him. Of course, Murphy wasn't all that worried until he saw what was in Jackson's hand. A gun.
He moved closer so that he would be able to see what Jackson was blocking. It didn't surprise him at all that Eve was there, but what did surprise him was that she wasn't arguing, she wasn't fighting him, she was just sitting there, her eyes at the ground while Jackson had a gun barrel pressed at her forehead.
With one swift movement, Murphy had unsheathed the knife and whipped it at Jackson. It missed him by a centimeter, but luckily it hit his gun. He dropped the gun, staring at it like it was a bomb in his hands. “What the-” He didn't get to finish before Murphy had bolted into the alley, and pulled out one of his guns. Instead of shooting him, however, he slammed the metal barrel into the back of Jackson's head. Unfortunately, Jack wanted him alive, though Murphy preferred him dead. Jackson moved to duck, but the barrel had already hit him. Murphy took note that his reflexes were terrible.
Jackson stood up straight, being around the same height as Murphy. His face was shadowed, but Murphy could almost see his eyes, which nearly glowed with anger. He stalked towards Murphy, who was now about four feet from him and clutching the gun a little harder now.
Jackson was in front of him now, and Murphy saw him raise his right fist. He hadn't even tried to get the gun again. Eve was now frozen, she didn't seem to be responding to the events around her, she just stared at the brick wall in front of her.
Murphy ducked, Jackson's fist going where Murphy's shoulder used to be. Murphy ducked far enough so that he was almost on his knees in front of Jackson, whipping out his knife and swiping at his torso. Jackson jumped back, and Murphy shot back up again, panting slightly and grinding his teeth.
Jackson made the advances again, sending his fist at Murphy's stomach. Unfortunately, Murphy's reflexes didn't seem to be that great either. The hit knocked the wind out of him, and make him double over. Jackson sent his knee up to Murphy's lower torso, and hit his lower back at the same time.
Murphy fell to the ground, coughing a little. Jackson kept coming towards him, so he quickly got up and staggered as he did so. Jackson had a devilish and maniacal smirk on his face, his hand now gripping a small knife. He sliced at Murphy's right arm, and fortunately for him, it didn't stab Murphy. But, it did slice open his arm slightly. Though it was just a small scratch, it caused Murphy to wince and clutch his arm. It had hit right where one of his worst burns was, and it almost felt like a wound was being torn open again.
Jackson turned around, walking over to Eve, who had now stood up. His smirk grew wider, and that only fueled Murphy's fire. He bolted up behind Jackson, grabbing his right shoulder and spinning him around. When he did so, he punched Jackson on the right side of his face, then stuck his foot under Jackson's. Jackson fell back, his head hitting the pavement and causing him to groan in pain.
Thinking that it was finally over and that he had subdued Jackson enough, Murphy walked over to Eve, rubbing at his right arm slightly. Only, the look of terror on Eve's face was the one thing that made him look back again. He heard a shuffling noise, before he felt Jackson grab Murphy's shoulder and send him falling backwards into the ground. He hissed in pain when he felt the pavement scratching at his skin.
Jackson stalked towards Eve, who was trying to run, but she couldn't. He had already gotten to her. Since he no longer had his pistol, he now had a knife pressed to her throat. She stared at him in pure horror. It must have been the breaking point for her when she realized that it was her father who was about to kill her.
As he laid on the ground, feeling almost helpless with what he was sure would be bruised ribs and a generally sore torso, Murphy knew that there was no stopping Jackson. At least, not in a situation that left him alive. Murphy reached down to the belt, pulling out the gun. He aimed it at Jackson, pulling the trigger as quickly as he could. The shot rang out in the alleyway.
Murphy watched as Jackson froze, the bullet causing his body to jump. His eyes were wide open now, his mouth dropping in shock and fear. He dropped the knife, grabbing at Eve and trying to hold himself up as his knees gave out under him. He finally hit the ground, right at Eve's feet. Murphy felt a wave of relief go through him when he saw the bullet wound, it was very close to his heart. He didn't die instantly, but he did bleed out and likely hit a major artery.
He laid on the ground, panting for a moment, before finally attempting at pulling himself up. His body jerked slightly when he felt a pair of hands on his left arm, helping to lift him. He was still jumpy from the events that had occurred in the past few minutes.
Once he was standing up, he stared down at Eve, who was still shaking violently, but distracting herself by inspecting his wound.
“Eve,” He said, trying to pull his arm from her. She continued to clutch it, staring at the wound and trying to pry his now blood-soaked clothes from it.
“Eve, I'm fine.” He pulled his arm from her, and she let it go. She now simply stared up at him.
He was surprised when she wrapped her arms around his torso, hugging him tightly to her. He realized then that his ribs and torso didn't hurt as much as he thought they did. Maybe it was just because she was there. He wrapped his arms around her body, hugging her close to him. “It's okay.” He whispered, resting his chin on her head as she laid it on his chest. “He's not going to hurt you again.” He said, his eyes slowly moving to Jackson's corpse.
Murphy looked up at the end of the alleyway when he heard footsteps coming down the sidewalk. Jack had finally gotten there. He stared at Jackson's body in full shock, then did a double take back at Murphy and Eve. He saw Murphy's arm, and frowned a little. He swallowed, before walking down the alleyway, directly to Eve. When she saw him, she pulled out of Murphy's arms, and Murphy, being the protective person he was over her, bit the inside of his cheek slightly but reluctantly let her go. She walked over to Jack, who continuously inspected all over her body to make sure she wasn't hurt, much like Eve had done with Murphy.
Jack's eyes went wide when he stared down at Eve's neck, and Murphy realized that the knife had dug into her skin and scratched her a little. It was enough to make blood pool from it, but wasn't as bad as Murphy's. Even so, Murphy ripped off his blood-soaked jacket and removed his shirt, leaving his torso bare. He walked over to Eve, pressing the fabric of the shirt to her neck. She winced slightly, before looking at him and frowning.
“You're the one who needs help, not me.” She said, staring up into his eyes with a mournful look on her face.
He shook his head. “I told you, I'm fine.”
Jack stood there, an extremely worried look on his face. After staring at the two of them skeptically for a few moments, he finally turned around to see four of his men looking down at Jackson's body, one of them kneeling down and inspecting the bullet wound.
“Nice shot.” Jack mumbled, not looking away from Jackson. He sighed, turning back to Murphy and scratching his cheek a little. “You just keep getting better and better at protecting her, don't you?” He said, a small smile coming onto his face. Murphy hadn't noticed it before, but Eve and Jack both had relieved looks on their faces. It truly looked like they had a weight lifted off their shoulders that she had been carrying around for years.
“I guess so.” Murphy smiled, noticing that the blood had stopped and now only left a stain on Eve's neck. He removed the shirt, dropping it onto the ground before encircling his left arm, the uninjured one, around Eve's waist.
Jack nodded a little, looking down at Jackson's body again. “We'll burn it tomorrow.”
“That's not the only thing that will be happening tomorrow.” Murphy smirked, causing both Eve and Jack to stare at him confusedly.
“The leader of the colony has just died, and last time I checked, you two are the next in line.”
They both smiled at each other, before looks of horror came onto their faces. “How do you know that?”
Murphy's eyes widened when he remembered that they still thought that he didn't know about Jackson. “Well... Uh...” He sighed, deciding to come clean. “I was going to go see Jackson and ask him what he had done to both of you, but Jay and Hannah stopped me... My only condition was that they tell me themselves.”
Jackson swallowed dryly. “So you know...” He cleared his throat. “You know everything?”
Murphy nodded slowly. A second later, Eve ripped out of his arms and walked away. She walked out of the alleyway, causing Jay to sigh.
“I lied to her.” Murphy sighed, shaking his head and rubbing the back of his neck.
“Of course you did. It doesn't really matter, though.”
“Why?”
“Believe me, when she remembers everything that he has done to her, she'll come running back to you. I guarantee it.” He said, walking out of the alleyway with Murphy close behind him.
*
Within the next hour Murphy was back at his house, hoping that Eve was there. Luckily for him, she was. She was in the kitchen, sitting at the table and twirling her spoon in her cup of coffee. She didn't look like she had slept at all. It was late, and he hoped that she would at some point.
She glanced up at him when he came in, her lips parting slightly before she looking back down at her coffee. He dropped his torn up jacket on the table, his shirt still soaked in blood that had dried.
She looked up at him again, and this time, she froze. He knew that she was staring at the blood.
Eve didn't say a word, but instead stood up and walked over to him, taking his hand and leading him to the bathroom. She grabbed a cloth, pressing it against the wound and wiping away any blood from it, fresh or dry. Once she had done that, she grabbed another cloth and pulled out a bottle from the counter. Murphy glanced down at it, and read the label. “Hydrogen Peroxide”. He had heard of it, but had never actually seen it.
She slowly poured it onto the cloth, looking up at him and biting her lip. “This might sting a little.”
She dabbed it against the wound, and he hissed in pain, gripping the counter tightly. It burned him badly.
“Sorry.” She mumbled, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. After a few more dabs, the burning went away and she reached into the cupboard again, pulling out a bandage and some gauze with medical tape. She squeezed a substance out of a tube labeled “Antibacterial Cream” onto the bandage before putting it against the cut. Murphy shivered a little, it was very cold. She began to wrap the gauze around his bicep.
“I'm sorry.” He mumbled.
“Don't be. You were just trying to help.”
“But I shouldn't have gotten involved. This wouldn't have happened if I didn't.”
Eve shook her head. “Murphy, no. That's not what I'm upset about.” She took the medical tape, and tore off a few pieces, putting them on the gauze. “You lied to me... That's why I'm mad.”
He sighed. “I can't help it. I had to.” She took her hands off his bicep, her eyebrows furrowed in anger this time.
“No, you could have told me!” She argued.
“You would've been upset!” He yelled back at her.
“Sure, but that would have been better than lying to me!”
“I can't help it! I needed to know what he did to you, I thought that you might be upset if I brought it up or if you knew that I found out about him.”
“I didn't want you to see him!”
“Well I wanted to!”
“But why?!”
“Because I love you!” He yelled, his expression softening. “Because I love you...” He whispered, more to himself than to her. “That's why.”
She stared up at him, her eyes filled with a confused and a caring expression all at the same time.
He looked down at her in complete silence. “Everything I've done, I've done for you.”
She stared up at him before shaking her head and looking like she was about to cry. “Murphy, I...” She paused. “Murphy, you lied to me.” She stayed silent again. “I'm sorry, but I-”
She stopped talking when he suddenly put both of his hands on her waist, pulling her close to his body. He did this so quickly that she nearly didn't have time to react, and was just all together to frozen and mesmerized to argue. She stared up into his eyes, waiting for him to say or do anything.
He moved his right hand up her body to her cheek, leaving shivers and goosebumps each place his hand touched. It happened so fast after that, and before she knew it, he had leaned in and gently touched his lips to hers, before getting slightly more passionate with it.
She didn't seem to be very protestant at that moment, so he kept going. He placed his hand on the back of her neck, moving his left arm and hugging her close to his body. Her fingers laid on his chest, curling ever so slightly.
He suddenly felt her hands pushing him back, and he removed his hands off her body. She stared up at him, her eyes now glistening with the tears of which he was sure he had never seen her shed. She shook her head, refusing to look at him. “How can I trust you?” Her voice cracked now.
Murphy thought about it for a second, not knowing the right words to say. His lips parted, and he slowly backed up from her, closer to the door. He ran a hand through his hair, moving it down to his mouth and rubbing at his cheek before smiling bitterly, feeling a lump form in his throat as he realized the truth. He shook his head at her, before backing all the way out the door. “You can't.”
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DUN DUN DUN.