life on the run remastered (book 3)

Search and rescue

Jack's POV

I look at my phone and see I have a text from James, and all it shows is a location. "James, what kind of trouble did you get yourself into now?" I think

"Jack, is something wrong?" Mike says

"Yeah, James needs my help, so I'm going to go help him," I say

"Let me go with you. I'm bored just sitting at home," Mike says

"Yeah, sure, just stay close. Hopefully, we can wrap this up fast," I say

Mike and I leave the house. "So, about your friend, he seems kind of weird at times," Mike says, breaking the silence.

"That's normal. You get used to it when you get to know James better," I say

"I see, so where are we heading?" Mike says

"I don't know. James just sent me his location; I hope he's not in danger," I say, my voice tinged with uncertainty.

Thirty minutes later, we arrive at the location, a vast building with imposing columns and a grand entrance. "Woah, this looks like the kind of place people would go for a huge meeting or something," Mike says, his voice echoing in the empty street.

"We better sneak in the back and find out what James is doing here," I say

We head toward the back, and the guard is on the floor. "That's strange. Is he alive?" Mike says

I inspect the body, and he looks extremely pale. "I don't know, but let's proceed with caution," I say

We enter through the backdoor and proceed slowly through the building. "this is more than creepy; it's downright terrifying," Mike says, his voice trembling.

"I know, but let's just find James and Wren and get out of here," I say

We keep looking around, finding ashen people on the floor. "what happened here? Why does everyone look Pale?" Mike says

We enter a room and see Wren, a close friend, hiding behind a table. "Jack, Mike, what are you doing here? You guys need to get out of here now," Wren urges.

"What's going on?" I say, my voice echoing the confusion we all feel.

"I have no idea, but I saw James head into the back somewhere," Wren says

"Come with us. We'll be safer together," I say

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Wren says

We all leave the room and search until we end up outside a double door. "I hear people inside. That's gotta be James," I say

"I'll take Mike home. You deal with whatever is going on there," Wren says, leaving with Mike.

I enter the office and see James, Carl, and Tommy. "Oh, look who showed up," Carl says

"Jack, you came. I knew you would," James greets me with a hint of relief in his voice.

"What is going on? What did you do to all those people?" I say

"Oh, those were just people to add to my power. The Dark Dragon, an evil force that feeds on souls, needs many of them," Carl explains.

"That's so messed up you're going to pay for that," I say

James gets thrown right next to me. "He's grown more powerful. I can't do anything," James says

"Get Tommy out of here. I'll distract Carl, alright?" I say

"Got it; please be careful," James says, going over to Tommy's cage and picking the lock.

"You want to face me alone. Do you have a death wish?" Carl says

"No, I don't," I say

James escapes with Tommy. "Looks like it's just you and me," Carl says

"Yeah, I'm going to show you no mercy" I say

Carl's grip tightens. "When will you realize I'm more powerful than you?" He hisses.

"You won't get away with this," I say

"Too late, I already did," Carl says

Carl drops me, and he holds his head. "what the hell is happening?" I think

After a few minutes, a black dragon materializes before me. "Finally, I have some freedom."

"Wait, what is going on?" I say

"You, why aren't you running?"

"You're not attacking me. Why?" I say

"Because I don't want to do this. I'm forced into this."

"How on earth did Carl manage to do this to you?" I say

"Get out of here. I was only able to stop him temporarily. Get out now."

"But I have so many questions," I say

"Go before it's too late"

I run out of the office and out the back door, and James and Tommy are outside. "Jack, you're alive, thank god," James says

The sun is setting, casting a warm glow over the scene. "I thought you were done for," Tommy says, his voice filled with concern.

"Yeah, me too, but you won't believe what happened," I say, building the suspense.

"Tell us when we get home," James says

We start heading home. "So, Tommy, what happened when you got captured?" I say

"Carl locked me in a cage, and all I heard was a bunch of screaming. It was terrible," Tommy says

"That's terrible," I say

We arrive home. "I'll stay hidden somewhere until it's safe to come in," Tommy says, flying onto the roof.

We head inside, and Wren and Mike are on the couch. "Hey, we need to talk," Mike says