The Dark Side of the Moon

Chapter 53: Florence

Dedication is to xXCrystalClearXx for helping promote the story! :)

-Florence’s P.O.V-

 Even though my brain had registered the action of locking the car doors, some small part of me still insisted to quickly try the handle. Yes, it was locked. I looked up in horror and Joullian, unconsciously shying away from him to squish as far into the corner of the seat as possible.

 “It wasn’t meant to be like this Florence, I have no choice.” His words coaxed no answer out of me, I was too scared and shocked to form words. He had to be kidding didn’t he? No one as innocent as Joullian had a second identity, not to mention a double life…

 Perhaps I was in partial ‘survival mode’, or perhaps the situation of being cornered had struck me as too much to handle, but I was desperate for a way out. The doors were locked, but what about the windows? I could try and punch them out, fist clenched with the thumb beside as my father had taught me, but it was no secret that windows were hard. Did I have enough strength to knock an entire window out, and then the time to scramble awkwardly through it while evading my captor? No, I could even break my hand while doing it and that did not bode well for my situation. I could scream for help, but the only other soul at the gas station now was the store clerk, and there was almost nothing that he could do for me. All Joullian had to do was to press down on the gas and I was being kidnapped, nobody outside the car could change that. Then there was the option of attacking. The old saying ‘fight or flight’ came to mind and it looked like I had no other option. I could raise my legs and kick Joullian with all I had, in the stomach to wind him or the chest to shove him away. Then what? Scrabble over his lap to unlock the doors to escape? Every option had certain risks involved, and I had to gamble with just one. The car suddenly seemed too small.

 Joullian read the wild look in my eyes after the first thought. “Don’t even think about it Florence,” he stretched a hand out to open an unseen compartment from the driver’s side. It concealed a gun, which he quite comfortably held in his hand, thankfully pointed away from me.

 He just pulled out a gun, threatened me with it and acted as if everything was fine. I think I was hyperventilating. The guy had a gun, a real, fully working gun that looked as if it could project a mightily painful bullet at the command of one person. That person was sitting across from me, watching me with a calculated gaze and looked as if he wouldn’t hesitate to use said gun.

 I swallowed and nodded. At my silent answer, I seemed to earn a little trust as he put the gun away again, but I did not forget that it was there. It was just itching to be used. Joullian started the car and gave me a look, which commanded me to sit still and not try anything stupid.

 Who in their right mind would anyway? He had a gun and all I had was the choice to cooperate or not. The latter would end badly, I could tell.

 We were on the road and driving for a long time before I worked up the courage to speak. I still wasn’t sure if it was a good decision or not. “Where are you taking me Joullian? Or should I say Jonathon?” I spat the last sentence with venom, and the courage surprised me.

 He didn’t flinch, didn’t even give away any clues to his state of mind. “I go by many names, but Jonathon is my birth name.”

 “I don’t even know if I can call that the truth,” I kept my eyes on him – too afraid to look away – but it was hard to hold back the emotion. I had liked him, really, really liked him.

 “I would never lie to you Florence, not now. You shouldn’t be involved, and it’s my fault.” For a second there he sounded a little sincere, and then I pushed the thought away. He had supposedly kidnapped a young girl and pulled a gun on me minutes ago, he was definitely not on my side.