Trust Your Instincts

-66- The Last Encounter (part II)

 Ken was the first to arrive at the main entrance of the old mall, and truth be told, despite his slight earliness, he was somewhat surprised that Jack wasn't there to greet him. Jack was always on time, and Ken would have thought that given the situation, tonight would be no exception, but that didn't change the fact that he was still stood there, forced to face the nipping cold alone until one of his allies decided to show face.

 He was even beginning to worry that he had heard wrong and showed up at the wrong location until two figures appeared beside him, as if they had manifested out of thin air. One of the people who now stood by him was unrecognisable, but the girl linking arms with the mysterious man was undoubtedly Laurel. So the man must be her dad.

 Ken hadn't forgotten what these two sorry excuses for human beings had done to Jack, but rancour and mean spiritedness wasn't part of his nature, and it was obvious that Jack had forgiven the two enough to include them in this plan of his, so Ken had no other option really but to greet them as politely as he could. The uneasiness behind the man's lifeless grey eyes though showed that even trying to be civil, Ken must've failed to keep the venom from his stare.

 A few minutes of agonisingly awkward silence passed, and he never thought he'd feel this, but Ken was almost ecstatic when he made out Felix's figure bounding towards them. He was panting and mumbling a few excuses to pardon his tardiness, but Ken didn't really listen to him. Not after he came to a certain realisation.

 His eyebrows furrowed in concern as he scanned his surroundings more carefully. It was past the time that Jack had requested they arrived, and the only person missing was the man himself. The place was pretty open plan, there were a few bushes and benches dotted about and a dormant fountain in the very centre of the stone plaza, but other than that, the place was barren, and there was no sign of Jack, not even in the distance.

 Ken stayed silent as Felix made small talk with Laurel and her dad, surprised that he was acting so calm around the people responsible for so many of Jack's scars. Perhaps he was just playing nice until the night was over. He was always a really extroverted person.

 A few more minutes passed, and Jack was still nowhere in sight. Laurel must have caught on to Ken's distress first, because she was first to voice her concern.

 "Ken, are you alright? You've been quite quiet this whole time." she observed, her eyes showing concern and her hand reaching out to rest on his forearm.

 Ken backed away a couple of steps, a little uneasy at the thought of sharing physical contact with her at this moment. He wasn't really one to forgive and forget so fast, and though what happened to Jack might not have been completely Laurel's doing, she still did nothing to stop it.

 "I... It's been six minutes since the time we agreed to meet here, and Jack is still nowhere in sight." Ken stated, watching as the others' mouths dipped into frowns and they turned on their heels, searching their surroundings now just as Ken had been doing. Felix's cheeks tinted red with embarrassment at the fact that he hadn't even realised how long they had been waiting for Jack to show up.

 When the other three had reached the same conclusion as Ken, and gathered that Jack was still nowhere to be seen, they began to panic.

 They can't have all misheard Jack's directions. Taking his phone from his back pocket, Ken decided to double check the group chat Jack had set up. He wasn't sure whether he sighed in relief or fear when he confirmed that they were indeed in the correct location, but he sighed nonetheless. Eleven minutes had now passed, and there was no sign of movement whatsoever coming from the empty plaza.

 It looked as if Felix was about to speak up again, but no sound managed to pass his lips as Laurel smacked her palm to his mouth and harshly jerked him and her father to the side, motioning frantically for Ken to follow suit.