Chasing Jenna

by Micki Fredricks

  “Right about now, the chief of police of your shitty, little home town, is getting a complete confession from you by e-mail.” My eyes widened as my mind spun to understand what he was saying.

  “School was just too much for you, Jenna,” his voice was laced with a sarcastically sympathetic tone. “The fact that you hadn’t gotten along with Katie and constantly felt inferior to her only intensified your feelings of inadequacy. You have such low self- esteem.” He smiled at me and shook his head like he felt sorry for me. “And then, when she started her romance with a boy from the prestigious Brotherhood house, the jealousy was just too much for you. You realized no matter how much schooling you got, or how far away you moved, you would always be that invisible, small-town, little piece of white-trash whore you always were.”

  I shook my head no as the image of what he was saying started to play out in my head. “After you killed Katie, you went to confess to your mom. You were hoping she could somehow redeem herself for all the shitty parenting, but when you saw her, all those years of abuse that she had allowed to happen to you, well … you snapped. And when she told you that you needed to turn yourself in, you killed her too. They’ll find a gun with your prints all over it, along with your cell phone that has pictures of both crime scenes.”

  My whole body shook, my heart filled with so much pain. I arched my back off the bed to try and fight it – silently screaming. I pictured my mom, so trusting, and excited for my “opportunity”. All those years she had only wanted love. She had believed every promise ever told to her, and all she had wanted was for our lives to be better. Everyone had left her too. It wasn’t only me that no one had ever come for – it was her as well. I pictured the last minutes of her life and knew no one was coming for her this time either.

  Something split open inside of me. That was it – I was officially dead. Not physically, but now it didn’t matter what they had planned. I deserved every bit of suffering that was coming my way. He grabbed my chin and I whined as the pain shot up my jaw.

  “That’s right, just one more person whose death is your responsibility. But who will care about a loser like her and her worthless daughter? No one! And once they find your body, they will close the case. I will, of course, be heartbroken for the girl who I tried to save, but didn’t reach soon enough. It really couldn’t be more perfect.”

  He started pacing again and then quickly turned on his heels and walked directly at me. I didn’t know that if you get hit hard enough, it doesn’t actually hurt. It’s more of a noise echoing in your head until the aftershock – when your body tries to hold onto life – that’s when the pain starts. The room started to spin, darkness taking over. I inhaled deeply, welcoming it.

  “Wake up!” he shook me by the shoulders. “You aren’t getting off that easy. I want you to hear this before you die.” His face was right next to mine and I struggled as my vision faded in and out.

  “I won; there is no one that can take me down. The only thing women are good for is to make The Brotherhood money, or have my sons so I can train them to make more money. I want you to know that was all you were worth, and you couldn’t even get that right – and because of that, everyone that ever loved you is dead.”

  He stood up straight and turned toward the door, speaking to Quinn as he passed him. “Get rid of her. I don’t want to see or hear of her again.” He grabbed for the handle of the door then stopped. “And Quinn, I don’t care what you do to her before she’s dead; just make sure it’s worth all this chasing.”

  >CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE<

  “Jenna, Jenna, Jenna,” Quinn said slowly as he reached down and locked the door.

  Shaking his head, he walked toward the bed. “I was really looking forward to training you.”

  He motioned between the two of us, and in a teasing voice, he said, “This could have been so much more pleasant, but now…” he laughed and stretched his arms out in front of him, bowing slightly to me like he was delivering a gift, “... it won’t be pleasant at all.

  He grabbed my face, squeezing so hard I could feel the inside of my cheek start to bleed. I grimaced, trying to shake out of his hold, but he held on tighter.

  “I don’t know what’s so special about you. We’ve had much better looking, much better built girls then you.” He trailed the fingers of his free hand down my torso slowly, making me shudder when he reached the top of my jeans, he grabbed the waistband and pulled – I gasped.

  “I was surprised when Cale sponsored you, but he said he saw something – and the Fathers agreed.” His face was so close to me I could feel his breath, I struggled to move away from him, but he held my face still as he hissed, “What do I know, I’m only the trainer.”

  He leaned into me and pressed his mouth against mine, like some type of ritualistic tasting of the prey. When he pulled away, my blood was smeared on his lips. He smiled and licked them clean.

  All I could do was stare at him. His would be the last face I would ever see, the last voice I would ever hear. There was still a small part of me that wanted to scream and fight him, but I realized I didn’t have the desire to get away. Where would I go if I did? There was nowhere … and no one. So I closed my eyes and prepared to die.

  A heavy-handed knock broke through the darkness of the room. I tried to turn my head, but he kept my chin squeezed tightly in his powerful hand; although he was looking and seemed concerned.

  He didn’t make a move toward the door, only stared in that direction. I watched him as suspicion crossed his face.

  Another knock; this one was shorter but just as heavy. Whoever was on the other side was getting impatient.

  My heart started racing. I watched him as he slowly stood. I could almost sense fear around him, and it made me even more terrified. At the last second, he looked down at me and growled, “Don’t make a sound.” I nodded quickly at him, my already messed up emotions seemed to believe he would protect me from the person on the other side of that door. If he was scared – I was scared. Maybe he would protect me.

  He crossed the room silently. When he reached the door, he placed both hands on it, leaned in and pressed his ear against it. There was no noise coming from the other side.

  He slowly reached for the handle with one hand, his fingertips hovering over the lock. Bile rose and I started gagging on the blood that ran down the back of my throat – I closed my eyes as tightly as I could. I knew I was making noises; Quinn wouldn’t like that. So I fought to keep the stomach fluids from coming up. Even with my eyes closed, the room spun. My nerve cells were on fire, my body hypersensitive to every place it touched the sheets. A shiver ran down my back and it felt like millions of needles piercing my skin.

  I jumped at the sound of the lock clicking. The room was suddenly filled with the noises of a struggle; grunting, heavy breathing, skin slapping against skin – fists meeting bone over and over.

  “She’s mine,” Quinn struggled to get out. Whoever was trying to get to me was fighting hard for the privilege to be the one to end my life. They wrestled around on the floor next to my bed; I could’ve just opened my eyes and looked, but I wasn’t brave enough. Watching Quinn beat someone to death was not something I wanted to do. I kept my eyes closed – it felt better this way.

  My head began to float and my body relaxed; I took a deep breath. My face fell slack, the pain was gone. I quietly cheered for Quinn – it sounded like he had the upper hand. It didn’t matter who won this battle, because I was dead for sure. The award for the winner was getting to kill me. But I’d already made peace with it being Quinn – I wanted it to be him, it should be him.

  I heard gasping and gurgling noises as someone kicked the bed. Someone struggled for breath. It was over as quickly as it had started. The only sound left was one person trying to catch his breath.

  I didn’t know who it was and I was too afraid to open my eyes. I decided it would be best not to look my killer in the face. I turned my head away from the door and squeezed my eyes shut even tighter. I wait
ed for a blow to my body or the type of invasion Quinn had planned for me. I wasn’t tense … I felt relaxed and accepting of my fate.

  My arms fell onto the bed as the bonds were cut … and next, the ties on my feet were gone. I braced myself as someone helped me to sit up. I wanted to grab onto this person but was so weak I couldn’t move. I thought about opening my eyes as the small part of me that was still fighting vied for control inside of me, but the struggle was almost too much as my eyelids fluttered. I always thought physical defeat would be the worst … I was wrong. Physically I was okay, but my mind had been prepared for death, and I couldn’t fight that.

  “Jenna, it’s me, Marcus, open your eyes.” I felt the coolness of water slip over my lips and onto my legs. I grabbed at the bottle, desperately trying to drink it all. I coughed and choked as water spilled out over the corners of my mouth when my throat refused it.

  “Slowly, drink it slowly.” He whispered. “I’ll explain everything, but let me get you out of here first – hold on to me.”

  The possibility of making it out of this room alive gave me the energy to reach up and hold onto him around the neck as he slipped his arms under my knees.

  Marcus moved swiftly, his route obviously planned out. I did my job by holding onto him and keeping my eyes closed. I pressed my face against his chest and tried to remain calm. I trusted him, because I had no one else.

  I think physically I could run, but if he had put me down, emotionally I would’ve crumbled. Without a doubt, I would’ve stood in one place, unable to move, cried and screamed – begging myself to wake up from this horrible nightmare that had become my life. Instead, I held on.

  We weaved in and out of rooms, ducking into dark places and waiting until we could move again. His heartbeat pounded loudly in my ear as he held me. Finally stopping, he spoke softly between his rapid breaths.

  “Jenna, do you think you can stand?”

  I nodded my head and he lowered me onto my feet. I let go of him and, surprising both of us, held my own weight. He handed me a bottle of water. I took a small drink – it went down this time and seemed to help the burning.

  We were in the kitchen. I laid my wrists onto the granite counter, welcoming the cooling effect it had on my wounds. I slowly spread my fingers out, fighting the tingling feeling as the blood flow returned.

  Marcus took my face softly, a hand on each cheek, careful not to hurt me. Our eyes connected and his desperation passed to me. The sensation made me reach up and hold onto each of his wrists to steady myself. We stood there for several quiet seconds as his anxiety swirled around both of us. He was not convinced we would make it out alive … neither was I.

  I knew this may be the last time I ever felt kindness in a touch so I leaned into him, resting my forehead on his. I wanted him to know how thankful I was that someone had finally come for me.

  He inhaled deeply and spoke to me in a whisper, “Okay, Jenna listen to me – I only have time to tell you this once. Do you think you can run?” He pointed to a service door in the darkened corner of the kitchen.

  I couldn’t answer him, but suddenly all my energy was transferred to that door. Freedom was on the other side and I couldn’t understand what we were doing just standing here. I started pushing against him, the excitement of freedom flooding through me.

  “Wait,” he said, pulling me to him, trying to get me to focus back on him. I looked up at him, shaking my head and pushing against his chest. Tears streamed down my face as I fought to get to the door.

  “There’s an alarm. Once we go out that door, everyone will know you’ve escaped.”

  I stopped, motionless as his words sunk in. I wasn’t as close to freedom as I thought, it was complicated. Everything was always complicated. Nothing is ever as it seems. I leaned back into him.

  “I have a car parked a few blocks away, but I can’t carry you and get to the car before someone finds us. Do you understand?”

  I nodded again, swallowing and wincing against the burning.

  “When we go through this door, I need you to run as fast as you can to the library – don’t go anywhere else. My car is parked in the opposite direction. I’m hoping to confuse them by splitting up. I will pick you up; hide next to the building, on the side closest to the dorms, if you get there before me.”

  “Then what?” I whispered, grabbing my throat as the words came out.

  He stilled, staring down at me as his eyes roamed over my broken face. He pushed a piece of hair out of my face and tucked it behind my ear. He knew what I was asking. Once we got out of here, where would we go? The police? According to Ryan, most of them were on The Brotherhood payroll and the others would already have me pegged as a killer. The school? They had to be working with The Brotherhood; how else would they have been able to get all my financial and personal information? My mom was dead and his dad was part of The Brotherhood – we had nowhere safe to go.

  He leaned down and kissed my forehead quickly, then pulled me to his chest. I gripped him around the waist and held tightly, realizing we had no ‘then what’. Only this moment – nothing was promised after this.

  He released me and led me to the door. “Are you ready?”

  I nodded, tears filling my eyes again.

  “One more thing, if I don’t come in 30 minutes, go back to the apartment. I left some things there for you that you will need. Don’t look for me.” And just like that, he pushed open the heavy door.

  It was nighttime and there was a steady drizzle of cold rain falling down. I turned my face to the sky and welcomed the cleansing; I wanted everything that had happened in the last week to be washed away.

  “Run!” he whispered and pushed away from me.

  I stood, paralyzed, trying to get my bearings. I looked quickly to my right, there was a row of dumpsters, and past them the alley ran straight into a main street. I could see headlights from the heavy traffic. I blinked away the rain, trying to make a decision.

  Adrenalin flooded my system. My heart started pumping at a crazy pace in anticipation of being chased. I looked from one end of the dirty alley to the other. I knew it was the quickest way to the library, but I couldn’t just run along the main street, so I hurried in the opposite direction, surprised at how alive I felt. I guess my desire to live outweighed any physical pain I was feeling. I stopped by the corner of the house, not wanting to rush out from behind any false sense of security it was giving me.

  Marcus was gone; I couldn’t see him anywhere. I said a quick prayer that no matter what happened to me, he would be spared.

  I heard all sorts of commotion coming from inside the house. The alarm must be going off and I was standing here just waiting to be caught again.

  I took off into the darkness, finding a line of bushes at the edge of The Brotherhood property and laid down under their cover. I realized I would have to run across the road. I was so weak; I was gasping for air and trying to get my head to stop spinning when I heard him.

  Cale walked along the sidewalk on the other side of the bush. He talked into his phone as his head went from side to side, scanning the area for me. I pushed my hand over my mouth, trying to hold in the terrified whimpers that were trying to escape.

  His voice was low but the anger was undeniable. If he found me now, I think he would kill me right here where I lay.

  “I don’t know what happened, I’m sorry. I’ll find her and the rest of them.” A car raced up and came to a screeching stop in front of him. The door opened, Cale jumped in yelling something to the driver and they were gone … chasing after me once again.

  My heart started to pound as I realized, for the first time since this began, I was on my own.

  >CHAPTER THIRTY<

  It wasn’t easy getting to the library. I spent most of the time ducking behind cars and crawling behind bushes. My hands were cut and bleeding and my bare feet throbbed. Something inside of me kept me moving.

  Once at the library, I was relieved to find a spot on the designated side of the bu
ilding that gave shelter from the rain. The trees that stood next to the building were casting just enough shadow from the headlights of the traffic to make it a good hiding place. I was pretty confident no one would see me from the road, and I had a clear view of the traffic so I would be able to see when Marcus pulled up.

  I leaned against the building; my cheek pressed up against the bricks, wishing I could just blend into this wall and be invisible … like I wanted to be that first day I came here. I hadn’t expected anything unusual to happen to me. Why would I? Nothing unusual ever happens to me. I was the girl who could walk down a street and never actually meet the stare of another person. I hated it back then – hated the feeling of being so unimportant, no one even noticed you. Now I longed for it, but instead, the whole world was looking for me.

  The rain continued to come down in sheets of drizzle, confident it left nothing dry. I shivered for the first time since I’d escaped and realized I must be cold.

  I closed my eyes to rest; even though I knew it was careless to be unprepared … I was just so tired. The second my eyes shut, Ryan’s face appeared and my heart broke all over again. In my memory, he was smiling like the first day we met. He was so handsome and kind that day. Memories began flashing like a movie in my head, the two of us in class, the times in my dorm room with Katie and Marcus and Ryan … sitting in the dark, waiting for me to come home, on the night that changed everything.

  My mind flashed memories of his face; the face I longed for, the face I loved … the face that lied and tricked me, then handed me over to the people who were determined to kill me. I couldn’t take this anymore; I had to rid my system of him. I rolled my forehead back and forth along the bricks, trying to erase everything about him. He wanted me dead. He’d even offered to come into the room and finish me off … but my heart still wanted to love him.

  I heard a rustling sound and opened my eyes just in time to see a hand come from behind me and slip over my mouth. I bucked back against my captor, getting my legs up against the wall and pushing as hard as I could. This was not going to happen; I would either escape or die right here and now.