Almost before I could open the door, Jacob said, “Laurie, you do seem to know things! It was obvious that pedophile was in your room, but he managed to get out right before Dad and I pulled up!”
“How could you tell!?” Mom blurted out.
Jason came up behind mom and placed a calming hand
on her elbow. “We saw where he’d jimmied her window and where he’d hidden himself in her closet.”
Mom’s hand flew over her mouth, and her eyes welled up with tears. She allowed Jason’s arm to circle her and draw her in closer to his body, and she appeared to draw strength from his support.
Jacob stood by me to console, but I didn’t know how I felt yet. The shock of the moment had passed me by. I’m sure it would return to strike out at me, but for the moment, I was handling everything calmly.
We saw the policeman approaching. “It appears to be clear, ma’am,” he said gently to my mother. “We’ve really nothing to go on, but I can do some drive bys to help keep an eye on the situation.”
“Thank you, Officer,” Mom managed to say. He shook our hands before returning to his car.
Jason looked down into Mom’s face, “Look, KaLissa, I know you don’t really know me because we just met and all, but would you consider staying at my house? We have a large guest room –.”
“I don’t know, Jason. I really appreciate it. Let me think about it.”
“Fair enough.”
We all walked in the house and took a seat in the living room.
“Mom. I think I’d like to stay at Jacob’s house, if you don’t mind,” I blurted out. “I just feel so… unsafe right now. If we stayed there, at least Jason knows how to apprehend people and can use guns.”
“Okay, baby. I just don’t want your reputation to suffer.”
“It won’t. I just don’t want to die in order to save my reputation. If people really know me, they’ll trust my
honor. If they want to start silly rumors, let them. I don’t care about what those kinds of people think anyway.”
“I know. Okay, we will. But if those rumors start, you let me know. Rumors can damage more than you think.”
Chapter Five
Mom and I gathered the things we’d need and locked up the house. Then we got in our car and followed the Toyota Tundra over to Jason’s residence. They lived on a quiet piece of land with a comfortable house. It was two stories with four bedrooms and a garage. A large male Akita decorated their lawn.
We got out of the cars tentatively, warily watching the beautiful canine.
“Tank won’t hurt you. He knows you’re friends of ours,” Jacob reassured.
“However, he’s a great deterrent to guys like the one who broke into your house,” Jason added. “He’ll protect you with every ounce in him.”
Tank, a powerfully built silver pinto with a black overlay and mask, came up to sniff hello. He wagged his handsomely curled tail to show us he accepted us. Then he rooted his large black nose under my hand for me to pet him. I scratched behind his triangular ears and watched his brown eyes halfway close in ecstasy.
“He’s really just a big baby,” Jason admitted. Halfheartedly, I left the big dog to take my possessions
into our temporary room.
The interior of the house was very rustic, made solely from split logs, many of which retained the bark, and smoothed to a fine sheen. The banisters and stairs were all hand crafted by Jacob’s father and grandfather. We followed the men up the circular staircase that opened into a half floor that overlooked the living room.
A full bath and a spacious guest room were just off the small second sitting room. The bedroom given to us to use was painted in soft blues with one wall a darker hue. A large oil painting of a beautiful castle surrounded by flower gardens adorned the darker wall. A 48” flat screen television was anchored to one corner in the room, and a queen four-poster was made up with a brilliantly crafted homemade quilt.
An antique vanity occupied one section of the wall and was separated by a few feet from a large oak desk. On the other side, a dresser, chest of drawers, and a curio cabinet happily gave compliments to each other. This room would be perfect, I decided.
“Now I can give you two different rooms if you insist,” Jason began, “but for safety purposes, sharing this room or if one of you would sleep on the couch in the small sitting room right there would be ideal,” he paused to point, “The couch is comfortable as is, or I can make it into a bed. If you two are very close in proximity, you can be more aware of any unusual noises. I really don’t think that jerk will try to break in here with Tank on the prowl, though.”
“Mom, sharing a bed is fine,” I said. “I’m tired of being scared. I think I might feel better if we’re in the same room. You just have to promise not to steal all the covers!”
“Wait a minute. You’re the one to steal the covers!” Mom denied. She turned to look up at Jason and answered, “Yes, we’ll just share the guest room.”
The guys bowed out gracefully to give us the space we needed. It was sort of uncomfortable “moving in” with two guys who were, in essence, complete strangers. Nevertheless, I felt I was a pretty good judge of character, and I had a good vibe about this decision. Besides, they both were very handsome. I hid a smile.
Both Mom and I slept well but light our first night. It was nice to feel safe, but just the fact that it wasn’t home
made a regular night’s sleep light. Although we were in someone else’s house, things seemed fairly normal.
Right away I texted my friends to tell them the latest news. They were irate at the turn of events, but they agreed that we were safer in the presence of two men who knew how to handle hoodlums. Murders, however, might be a different story.
School went well that week. It was nice waking up and sharing breakfast together with Jason and Jacob. We quickly were becoming very good friends. My other friends welcomed Jacob with loving arms into our little “clique”.
Thursday morning promised to be a hot one. I asked Mom if Jacob could give me a ride to school on his Harley. She agreed if he promised to not drive excessively fast or dangerously.
I was excited and nervous when I placed a few of my school things in his black studded saddle bags. I secured my hair in a braid and placed the black Harley helmet on my head.
“You sure you want to do this?” Jacob asked.
I nodded. I was sure my eyes were large, but I anticipated the feel of the breeze cooling my skin. Jacob started his bike with a dimpled grin, and I climbed on behind his large frame.
“I don’t have a sissy bar, yet,” Jacob said, “so you’ll just have to hang onto my waist.”
I smiled and said, “Are you calling me a sissy?” He answered with a deep chuckle that I could only read into as foreshadowing, but I wrapped my arms as far as they would go around him anyway, and we zoomed off. The acceleration was invigorating! I felt the wind play and tug at my braid, and the airstream caressed my body. It was even better than I imagined! Before I knew it, we were at school. All our buddies came up to ooh and ahh at the super cool Harley.
“Now I feel famous,” I joked with a wink.
“You ride like a pro,” Jacob complimented. “Are you sure you haven’t ridden before?”
I shook my head, and all my friends laughed and walked into the building with us. I was on a personal high all day at school, and I looked forward to sitting behind the attractive Harley rider on the way home.
After school, my friends and I jogged. In my opinion, the day couldn’t get much better. Jason had texted me to say that he and his father wanted to take Mom and me out to eat for supper.
“Where?” I asked him as I readied myself to ride.
“I’m not sure, but I think Dad mentioned the Texas Roadhouse.”
“Oh, awesome! I LOVE that place!” I said with relish. “Yes, it’s pretty hard to beat a steak if you ask me,”
Jacob agreed.
He hopped on and started his Harley, and I climbed on th
e back of the vibrating machine. The familiar rush of sensation fluttered my stomach. As we accelerated on the highway, Jacob reached one arm down and patted my thigh. I smiled even though I knew he couldn’t see it.
We had been traveling about ten minutes toward Jacob’s house when, unexpectedly, a frigid wintery gust blasted at my body. Invisible icy fingers grabbed and tore at my clothing, and I was immediately fearful that I’d fall off. Jacob didn’t appear to notice the drastic change in the temperature. However, I clutched at his body frantically with frozen fingers.
“What’s wrong?” he asked back over his shoulder. “Don’t you feel that?” I shouted through chattering teeth.
“Feel what?” he asked.
“Jacob, please pull over. I feel strange… in a bad way.” “We’ve only got three miles to go until we’re at the
house. Do you still want me to pull over?” “Please?”
Jacob reluctantly did as requested. He pulled the Harley onto a gravel side road that led back into some woods.
“Go back toward the tree line,” I whispered urgently. “What?”
“Do it, Jacob! Do it now!”
Without more debate, Jacob keyed up the idle, and we swept back toward the woods. He shut the bike off and turned toward me.
“Now what’s this all about?” he asked softly. His eyes filled with worry when he saw my ashen complexion and my uncontrollable chattering of my teeth. “Laurie! What’s wrong? Are you going to be sick?”
“Put your arms around me. I’m so cold.”
Jacob gently lifted me from the bike and cradled me in his arms. I felt as if I was experiencing what someone dying surely had to feel. It was as if all my strength and warmth had been zapped from me. My limbs were stiff and rigid, similar I imagined, to what rigor mortis does as the soul leaves the case of the body behind.
Jacob sat on the ground, pulled me in, and wrapped me up with his strong arms. My head rested against his chiseled chest. His large hands vigorously rubbed up and down my arms to restore some heat. We sat like that for ten minutes.
Then, as quickly as the coldness had hit, the heat returned. With it came knowledge; I’d saved our lives in that moment.
“Jacob! Look!” I pointed toward the highway.
Slowly driving down the road from the direction of Jacob’s house was the blacked out Charger.
“It’s him!” I revealed.
Jacob stood up and gently placed me on the ground. “Jacob! What are you doing?”
“I’m going to follow this jerk!” “You can’t do that! He’ll kill us.”
“You’re not going. You’re going to stay here and call the police and our parents.”
“No! You don’t have any way to protect yourself!”
“I’m not going to be stupid, Laurie. I’ll be careful. I’m not going to let him see me.”
“You’re not exactly inconspicuous on a Harley, Jacob.” He ignored me and hopped on his bike.
“Jacob! Don’t go!!! Please! Please!” I begged.
“Laurie, I have to. Call it a man thing. No one is going to get away with this!”
And with that, he zoomed off toward the street.
I called the police and our parents. They could hear the panic in my voice. I did my best to describe my location.
Suddenly, the roar of a Harley barreling back down the highway with the scream of car rubber hot on his heels made me drop my phone. All I could do was watch as I saw the devil disguised as a Dodge try to ram the figure on the bike. Without realizing it, a scream ripped from my throat. I began running toward the action.
It was then that I realized what I’d done. How the car driver saw me, I’ll never know. Apparently, the Harley was no longer of interest. The car did a perfect forty-five degree right turn toward me when he was perpendicular to the gravel road. All I could see was the storm of dust boiling from the car as he gunned it toward me.
My body took over and I ran as hard as I could back to the tree line. I had no idea if I’d make it or not. Thank God I’d taken Jacob’s advice. Surely the police were on the way!
I hit the tree line simultaneously as the car slid to a stop. I heard the car door open and instantly, footsteps were racing toward me. I felt my backbone stiffen and goose bumps raced up and down my spine. My legs developed a mind of their own. They suddenly ran faster without me meaning for them to.
Then I heard the most welcomed sound in my life: A Harley. Jacob roared down the tree line. I angled my direction back toward him. Consequently, so did “Adam”. He was going to try to intercept me! Jacob and I would have a fighting chance with two to one odds as long as Adam didn’t have a knife or a gun. Still, I had no desire to find out!
I was naturally a runner, but that didn’t mean I sprinted. In spite of that, I gave it my all. I jumped toward Jacob just as his muscular arm caught me and swung me up behind him. At that precise moment, Adam made a spectacular dive at us and only missed us by about three feet. I couldn’t help myself; I screamed and clutched Jacob hysterically.
We raced back toward Jacob’s home where safety awaited us. There we’d find weapons to even the playing field. By the time we’d reached the highway, Adam had reached his car.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t go back to town – toward the police station?” I managed to yell above the roar of the engine.
“We’ll never make it. He’s got a hot rod in that car. We’ll be lucky to make it home in one piece. Hang on, baby!”
Within moments, the black dragon was breathing on our heels. Jacob raced like a madman to stay just out of reach of the monster’s chomping fangs, but only by inches. I was glad he knew how to take the turns expertly. It was frightening how the bike nearly lay on the asphalt as it sliced around the turns. Finally, the house was within sight.
“Here’s where he has a chance,” Jacob warned. The place where the asphalt turned and his drive began was white chat. It would be difficult to maneuver without crashing the bike at this speed. I tucked my head against Jacob’s back and prayed.
Just when I thought we were going to make it, the demon reached out a claw and bumped the tire. Jacob managed to stabilize and slow our speed to a degree, but he’d lost control of the machine. The Charger saw the moment of weakness and attacked again, this time with more punch. We couldn’t endure the hit and remain upright.
Jacob clutched at me, but the speed and velocity made his attempts useless. We both tumbled in different directions. The car stopped a second time, but on this occasion, it wasn’t the same careless fashion.
Both Jacob and I remained in the position our bodies assumed once we stopped rolling from the crash, unable to move. I didn’t know how badly I was injured, but I was positive some bones were broken. At least I wasn’t dead… yet. I hoped Jacob fared as well. I couldn’t crane my head to look and see where he was or what was going on.
An evil laugh filled the air. “You, my spry little monkey, are a hard one to catch. No matter. I enjoyed the thrill of the chase. I’m nearly disappointed that this is almost over.” The statement was followed by harsher, throaty laughter.
“Jacob…” I heard my gravelly voice rasp.
“Oh, he’s alive, my pretty. I care not if he lives or dies. You’re another matter entirely.” He stooped down over me and laughed for a third time. It was a deep laugh that caused him to arch his head back. I cracked a swollen eye open. The sun glittered down on the edge of a sharp knife grasped firmly in his hand. My eyes widened. I assumed I’d be gutted like a deer where I lay.
“No, my dear, not here,” he answered as if reading my mind. “You’ll be rewarded for such an intriguing game you played of evading me! I’ve a plan for you, Beautiful, but it involves more time and energy than I spent with your twin. You’ll live until I tire of your company. I see from your position that I won’t have much difficulty with you fighting against me.” A hint of a smile touched his hard mouth.
I felt my body being lifted again. I tried to struggle against his superior strength, but my
unwilling body was drained. I had no energy left to fight. I shrieked as the pain coursed through my body.
Adam turned and hoisted me over his back like a sack of potatoes. I screamed as pain carved patterns through my ribs. A sharp stabbing sensation stole my breath away. Adam, conscious of the degree of my pain, decided to carry me in his arms.
“I want you awake for the first stages of our time together,” he informed me.
Out of nowhere, Jacob materialized and blocked Adam’s path back to his car. Adam smiled sardonically at Jacob. “You think you can stop me? You may be bigger than me, young man, but you’re injured. I, however, am not.”
Jacob’s breathing was labored, but I knew he would give his last breath for me. In fact, that may be just what he was doing.
“Still don’t want to move out of my way?” mocked Adam. “Well, I can slice your girlfriend up right now while you watch, or I can string your organs all over this farm!” For effect, Adam clutched me with one arm and sliced his blade through the air with his other. I wheezed and coughed in agony as the pressure of his arm ripped throbbing sensations throughout my body. Still, Jacob would not move.
Eyes with No Soul Page 5