Her Protector (On Hold)

Chapter 5: Escape

"Hang tight, we're almost there," Jack said distantly, glancing around him skillfully in watch of anyone who might've been following us. I had no clue where we were headed, but the boat ride really wasn't a long one which honestly made me a little nervous. There was a reason why that crazy lady wanted to hurt me...or rather kill me... and I had an unsettling feeling that she wasn't going to be gone for long especially after letting out such a frustrated scream before she somehow disappeared from our boat (Well, my eyes were closed so I could've missed her escape tactic). Jack had driven the stolen boat to a dock about a mile or so from the competition boundaries, docking it with ease once we approached the eerie silence that greeted us. Luckily, none of the other two boats followed us, but it did make me curious as to where they went... 

In the distance, you could hear police sirens blare out across the small town as the local law enforcement approached the scene on the beach. Every so often, I heard a gun shot or two go off, but it occurred much less frequently than they had moments earlier.

Jack docked ourselves on the more remote side of town, which explained why everything was so quiet. This part of town wasn't necessarily crime infested, but it didn't have the nicest of neighborhoods despite the fancy houses and expensive cars that they portrayed to have.

"Stay close to me." He instructed lowly, his voice serious as we began to step off the boat. I gulped, placing my weak feet onto the wooden dock as we began our journey to a safer place in order to ride out the chaos. Jack's movements were rigid and professional, his inner soldier coming out as if he were on a dangerous undercover mission. I remained close behind him, but kept enough distance between us in case he were to suddenly fight someone in our way.

My heart pounded anxiously against my chest. I could still feel the panic harbored inside me, waiting for the slightest event to happen to set it off again.

"Relax," Jack's calm voice soothed, his eyes glancing back at me to see my body stiff and full of tension. "I'm here to protect you. I won't let anyone else hurt you."

I gave him a small smile, letting his words comfort me as I wrapped my arms around myself. My bare feet padded silently against the hard wood dock, reminding me that I didn't have any dry clothes or shoes to put on... In the midst of the chaos and almost kidnapping and murder, I didn't have a spare moment to run back to the tent and get anything that I could change into. Luckily, though, it was a hot summer day out in Riverstone Beach, California so I knew that the temperature outside would at least dry me up and keep me warm.

What I would give from some dry clothes right now... It may have sounded stupid, but considering the fact that I was somehow consciously aware of the creeping trauma that was rising within me, I wanted anything to distract me from the experiences I had to witness just now. 

As my thoughts swarmed around the idea of dry clothes and snuggling up in blankets, Jack suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. He held up his arm in the blink of an eye to get me to stop, which I most certainly did.

"Wait..." He whispered, his trained eyes scanning our surroundings nervously. The panic within me began to rise again as it started to quicken my breathing rate. I tried to nonchalantly look around, too, but I knew that my movements weren't nearly as fluid and natural as his were.

We hadn't gone far from the dock, which is what made me nervous. Had someone already beat us here? Were they simply waiting for us to draw closer like a predator to its prey and pounce on us when we were least prepared for it? Maybe not... I did have Jack and I was confident in his ability to fight, but at the same time, there was only so much that one man could do against a mob if lots of people came out to fight him...