Lead Me Out of the Dark

Two Bullets

Skye’s POV-

“Thank you so much for picking me up,” I slurred, smiling dazedly. My vision was really blurry, and it looked like Jack had a twin brother. I giggled. Jack’s twin brother could be named Jerk! Jack and Jerk, Jack and Jerk! I sang.

“Anytime. You know I’m always here for you, Skye,” Jack promised. He hit the accelerator, and I relaxed against the seat. When I opened my eyes again, I didn’t recognize where we were. It was dark, and I identified a big black shape. Was that a little house?

“Where are we? This isn’t my house,” I realized. Jack nodded.

“This is a small pit stop. C’mon, let’s go inside,” he said. A bad feeling unfurled in the pit of my stomach. Stop it! I told myself. Jack had only ever been kind to me. I had no reason to doubt him. Jack led me inside of a small cabin. It had one floor, and only one hallway. It was relatively small, with only nine or so rooms. I followed him inside, looking around like an inspector. There was a small click, and I whirled around. Jack had locked the door.

“Why did you lock the door?” I demanded immediately.

“It gives us more privacy,” Jack promised. He gripped me by the hand and led me to the couch. I couldn’t help but compare it to the way Deck held my hand. Deck held my hand like I was made out of glass, like if he squeezed tightly enough, I’d disappear. Jack held my hand like he needed to get me somewhere, like I was a ragdoll. He sat down and yanked me down beside him. My head spun.

“Do you like me, Skye?” Jack asked, looking into my eyes.

“Er, I guess-” I said. Before the first word had even left my mouth, he had smashed his lips against mine. His hands were on either side of my face. They were kind of sweaty. Ew, what a turn off, I laughed to myself.

“Um, Jack,” I started, pulling away from his lips. He didn’t take his lips off of me. He just moved them to my throat. They were slowly traveling downwards.

“You’re nice and all, but I don’t think this is a good idea, because, you know, it isn’t?” I struggled to come up with a better reason, but my mind was still spinning from the alcohol I’d downed earlier. I was surprised I wasn’t hung over yet. Wait… had Jack given me more alcohol while I was asleep?

“Shut up,” Jack murmured against my neck. Did he just say what I think he said? His hands were at the hem of my t-shirt, and he’d pulled it off of me in one swift movement. The cold air on my chest was like a wakeup call. I gasped, and Jack’s eyes widened.

“Oh my God,” Jack breathed, eyeing my chest hungrily.

“Jack, stop,” I said. Jack ignored me. His hands traveled up my stomach. He was practically drooling. I kicked and struggled against him. Jack pinned my legs down with his legs, holding my wrists down with his hands. My stomach dropped. He kissed down my collarbone, and tears leaked out of my eyes.

“Stop! Jack, stop!” I screamed. My voice was so loud, yet I wasn’t screaming for help. Would anyone hear me? Was he going to rape me? Would he kill me after he raped me? I didn’t rule out any of these options. This was a Jack I didn’t recognize. I realized I didn’t know anything about him. Jack removed a knife out of his pants, holding it carefully against my throat as he kissed down between the valley between my breasts. His breath growing hot. I could feel him growing hard against my thigh. The metal of the knife was freezing cold. I cried louder, my body shaking with the force of my sobs. He shifted so that he had both of my wrists in one hand. He used his free hand to grope my breasts, grabbing them roughly. I let out a squeak.

Suddenly the doorknob jiggled. There was a pounding on the door.

“HELP!” I screeched at the top of my lungs. The pounding on the door increased.

“Skye! Skye!” I heard. It was Deck. I cried harder when I realized he’d been right all along. He’d tried warning me about Jack, but I hadn’t listened. This was all my fault. Jack moved his hand to cover my mouth. He didn’t notice his mistake until a second too late. I used my free hand to scratch my nails across his face. He let out a hiss of pain and I bolted off of the couch, making it to the door in two strides. I managed to get it open and sprint outside- straight into Deck’s arms.

“Oh my God, Deck!” I sobbed, clinging to him as if my life depended on it.

“Skye, are you alright? Did he hurt you?” Deck asked immediately. I nodded against his neck.

“He tried to r-rape me,” I blubbered. Deck snarled. He seemed to realize I was shirtless because he pushed me away so that he could take off his sweatshirt. He handed it to me carefully, but his hands were balled into fists. He was shaking. I threw it on gratefully.

“Glad to see you’re okay, kiddo,” John said. I let out a breath of relief and gave him a quick hug. He smiled and ruffled my hair. I wiped my tears on the sleeve of my hoodie, looking up at John and Deck. These two boys meant the world to me. I wouldn’t trade them for anything- not money, not health, not success or fame or even my own TV show.

“It’s time to break up this rescue party. Step away from them, Skye. It’s time to finish what we started,” Jack said. He was in the doorway, holding something long and brown. My heart stopped beating. It was a gun. My stomach turned at the sight of him. He was a sorry bastard. I didn’t ever want to see him again.

“Don’t,” Deck said. I couldn’t tell if he was talking to me or to Jack. Did he mean don’t shoot? Or did he mean don’t move? I remained where I was.

“Move, Skye, or I’ll shoot them. I’ll shoot both of them.” He hissed. I hesitated. Would he really shoot? Did he even know how to use a gun? I looked up at Deck, and I was surprised to find he was looking straight at me. He looked like he was trying to tell me something with his eyes. How the Hell was I supposed to know what he meant?

“There are two bullets. One for Deck, and one for John,” Jack taunted. My heart spasmed. Jack took a step closer, aiming the gun straight at Deck.

This step proved to be his undoing. Deck lunged, tackling Jack to the ground with the grace of a lion. He wrestled the gun away from Jack and used it to beat him. He used the long shotgun to beat violently against Jack’s head. I could hear the cracks as the metal thwacked the side of his face. I didn’t stop Deck. I wasn’t scared, because I knew Deck would never hurt me, and Jack was beaten so roughly I was sure he couldn’t hurt me. John didn’t move to stop Deck, either. We just stood there, twin pillars of stone, watching without regrets as Jack began bleeding from the tip of his scalp. We watched as a dent appeared in the side of Jack’s skull. We watched as little bits of Jack’s brain dropped out of his nose. We stood there and we watched.