The Bartender's Daughter

Chapter Thirteen

My door banged open and Jack came running into my room, covered in sweat, with a flashlight in his hand.

"Alli! Get up! We're leaving. Now." He threw my covers off me and then ran over to my wardrobe where he threw me a pair of shorts and a shirt.

"Jack! What the hell! What's going on? What time is it?" I shouted, covering myself quickly with my robe.

"I'll explain after you get dressed, but you need to hurry. It's about four in the morning." He was peering out into the hallway and he closed the door quickly and softly and then strode over to my window where he moved the curtains aside. It was still dark out and there were clouds blocking out the moon and the stars. Off in the distance I could see lightening and the windows rattled softly with the sound of the thunder.

I went quickly into the bathroom whee I slipped on the shorts and a tank-top thing, and when I came out of the bathroom Jack was pacing back and forth across the carpet.

"Jack, calm down, you're going to wear the carpet down." I told him, reaching for my converse and tying them on. "Now, are you going to tell me what's going on?"

Jack walked over to me and grabbed my wrist and he pulled me out of the room, checking to make sure the hallway was clear before pulling me along. "Jack!"

"Shush!" He snapped quietly, his eyes darting all around the hallway. "People got in. They're here for us."

That shut my mouth quickly as we half-walked half-ran down the hallway towards the entrance of the house. All of the lights were off and the only thing that illuminated the hallway were the occasional flashes of lightening. It was pretty creepy and I could feel the goosebumps rising up on my arms.

"How do you know they're here?" I whispered quietly.

"I heard movement in the hallways and when I went to go check it out, they were gone but I saw them turning the corner towards Emmit's room. I contacted him quickly to let him know what was going on, and he should be here any sec-"

"We need to go." Emmit came running around the corner with a backpack on his back and two in his hands. They were all black and looked filled with who knows what. There was a water bottle clipped to the side, as well as a flashlight. They looked more like backpacks you would take camping than for anything else.

They were survival kits.

Emmit threw me a backpack and I caught it but almost dropped it from the weight. "What in the world is in this thing?" I whispered as I pulled it on.

"Everything we'll need. Hopefully." Emmit muttered as he pulled the strings and tightened the clips on my backpack. It was then I remembered briefly these guys went overseas together; this kind of training and situations had probably happened to them more than once. This was all new for me.

Jack walked over the the front door and looked at Emmit who gave him a small nod. "As soon as that door opens, we run towards the tarmac where the plane is waiting for us. It's a downhill run, so I hope those shoes have good traction." Emmit told me.

I looked down at my shoes and felt nervous. My shoes were so old, they were ripped and dirty and there was almost no bottom left on them. I could barely walk on wet tile, much less run down a hill with a 10 pound backpack. "Yeah... I'll be fine."

"Ready?" Jack asked, hand on the doornob. "One, two, three!" He pulled the door open and the three of us took off running into the night. There was a harsh wind blowing against our backs, pushing us forward with an unseen force. The lightening still seemed a couple of miles away, but the thunder was becoming more frequent. Small, tiny drops fell from the sky randomly, but not enough to call it "raining".