Alive >> Jake Fitzgerald << Scream

Twenty-Five.

"I don't get why you're making me go to this self defence class." I crossed my arms over my chest, "It's not like I can't take care of myself. And besides, our Dad's a cop!"

"Considering a killer is on the loose and our dad is never home because hes trying to find that killer, and I'm the older sibling, that makes me the one in charge, so I am sending you to a self defence class."

"Dude! How come I have to go and you don't?"

"Because unlike you I don't have the strength of a weak baby kitten." He turned his back on me, ready to head towards the parking lot and wait in the car until the defence class was over and done with.

"I don't need to go to this class!"

"Think of it this way, what if one of your friends gets attacked by the killer again? You want to be able to protect them, right?"

"Well, yeah..."

"You don't want them to end up like the others?"

"Of course not."

"Then do this class." he gripped my shoulders, he held them so tightly I thought they were going to break off at any second, "besides it could be fun."

That was the one thing I hated about my older brother, he could go from intense, looking as if he could kill a man with only his good looks and his hair gel, to the most casual, sweet guy, who volunteered at animal shelters on the weekend. It was the one feature of my brother that had always terrified me.

I remember one time when I was a kid I fell off of the kitchen counter and split my head open, everything was fuzzy, but the one thing I remember as clear as day, was a ten year old Kieran leaning over me, calm and collected as he always was. I remember him watching me for a few seconds, before he stepped over my bleeding body and dialed an ambulance on the landline.

He sat with me, silently pressing a towel against my head to stop the bleeding, he didn't scream or cry or even speak, he only sat beside me and watched. As soon as the paramedics showed up and loaded me onto a stretcher, the intensity that had been in his eyes flooded away and they were replaced with guilt and worry.

"You're gonna be okay." He'd gripped my small hand in his slightly larger one, "We're gonna be just fine."

He'd always been that way, it was as if he had two different personalities, that was the only thought that occurred to me as I watched him turn the corner and head back to his car.

I let out a sigh before heading into the gym, Audrey, Noah, Emma and Will along with a bunch of other students were participating. Everyone wore the same old cruddy gym clothes and a blue mat that was practically falling apart lay in the centre of the room, everyone crowded around it, listening as the instructor spoke.

"Lydia, Will." We immediately shot each other a look, "You're up. Here's your scenario, Lydia, you're in a dark parking lot, a guy grabs ahold of you, he's larger and stronger. What do you do?"

Everything the instructor had taught us immediately left my brain, so I demonstrated the first thing that came to mind.

"I do this." I quickly spun around, bringing knee down on Will's groin. He immediately dropped to his knees, clutching his junk and forcing himself not to cry.

Emma let out a laugh, offering me a hand off of the mat as I joined her. "Uh... okay, let's try that again. Audrey, Will. Same scenario, you're in a dark lot, the guy's larger and stronger."

Will awkwardly wrapped an arm around Audrey's front as if he was attacking but as quick as lightning, Audrey flipped Will over her shoulder and pinned him to the ground, her knee pressed into his spine.