The whole thing was a mystery. Jake was starting to get the sense that maybe Megan was right. Maybe they didn’t belong here. But as he headed back downstairs, he heard a loud groan from the kitchen. It sounded like the young man had woken up.
Jake knew he had two options. He could check the man was okay or he could leave with Megan and get out of there before something bad happened. His gut was telling him to leave, but his heart was telling him something different. If the man was hurt, wasn’t it his duty to help? Once upon a time, he would’ve saved his own skin and left. But now, he thought of his precious Aby. he liked to think if someone came across her all alone in the world that they’d help her. And that made his decision for him. He couldn’t in good conscience leave someone in trouble.
Jake headed to the kitchen and found the man stumbling to his feet. His mouth seemed to slope to the side like he couldn’t control his muscles. He began to mumble to himself, but Jake couldn’t decipher anything he was saying.
“Are you alright?” he asked. The young man groaned in response, shaking his head around wildly. He was starting to freak Jake out, but he stood his ground. He seemed like he might be on drugs from the response he was having. His eyes were bloodshot. His face sagged and had a yellowish tinge to it, like he was sickly. He didn’t understand how he could help the man, but he didn’t want to leave him alone. Who knew what self-destructive things he might do.
The young man panted hard, saliva pooling in his mouth and dripping down his chin. It was like he was rabid. And then, he began to scream. Jake stepped back in shock, not knowing what the hell to do. He’d never met someone so simultaneously terrifying and pitiful in his life. The scream he emitted was shockingly loud. He launched himself at Jake who held him off warily, grabbing the man by his shoulders, and then clutching at his neck. He choked him, hoping he could restrain him for long enough to make him pass out again. Staying with him had been a mistake. The man was obviously beyond help.
The young man made a choking sound as he stared right into Jake’s eyes. By the time he passed back out, Jake felt cold to his core. He hadn’t expected that to happen.
But then he heard the front door burst open. Several pairs of footsteps rushed through the house. Jake barely had time to react before he was faced with four grinning faces of young men. There was a darkness in their eyes that made Jake realize that he’d been a fool. He’d been trapped. The young man must’ve called out for their benefit. And now they were going to hurt him.
Jake tried to back up, but there was nowhere to go. Megan was nowhere to be seen, so he presumed she was til okay. He wished he could tell her to run. He wished he could tell her that she was right. But there was no time. He didn’t know what the men wanted or what they might do to him, but the look in their eyes told him that their intentions weren’t good. One of them stepped forward and the young man who Jake had choked out laughed maniacally. Now Jake was wishing he’d killed him.
“We’re going to have some fun with this one, boys,” one of the men said with a wolfish grin. Jake tried to dodge him, but the man slammed a fist into Jake’s already bruised ribs. He fell before he could stop himself. On his knees, he looked up just in time to see the fist heading straight for his face. The force of it was so hard that he smacked his head against the tiles, groaning in pain. He was seeing stars. The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was the men advancing on him, ready to hurt him.
He let the darkness take him.
Nine
Aby
When Aby woke, fear rushed through her for a moment as she tried to recall where she was. She always had trouble waking up in new places like hotels or at a friend’s house, but this time was even worse. When she shot up, covered in sweat, she feared for her life. She didn’t know where she was or why.
And then it came back to her. She was staying with Peach. She had fallen asleep for eight full hours in her large and comfortable bed. The normality of being in a proper bed was almost too much for Aby to handle, and she felt tears spring to her eyes.
“You’re being ridiculous,” she told herself aloud, but still the tears fell. She didn’t realize how much she’d missed something as simple as waking up in the morning to a normal life. Instinctively, she reached out for Jake across the bed, but of course, he wasn’t there.
Aby took a few calming breaths and tried to force herself to stop crying. She had a long day ahead of her and she couldn’t afford to be getting upset over nothing. This was her life now. She wasn’t special in that regard; everyone else was going through the same thing. Maybe she just needed to get that into her head so that she could move on and focus on surviving.
She forced her aching legs to swing out of the bed and find solid ground. Even after the best night’s sleep she’d had in some time, she felt a little groggy and her whole body was hurting from
