The Runaways

Chapter 2 (Part 2) - Sewers, Smells, and Absolute Chaos: Jack

"are you Okay?" she says her voice stronger than I anticipated. She is stronger on the inside than most people believe. On the outside she seems to be a little girl who isn't as strong as all her friends but on the inside, she is the smartest, strongest, fiercest person I know.

"yeah" I say, "why wouldn't I be?"

"seriously Jack you just got shot three times by a murderer who is now being paid to kill us. How can you possibly be completely fine" she says. I look at her closely. She is one of the only people I can trust. "Jack you can tell me anything. I know you're not fine. I know your scared, but you can't hide it and you know it." She says softly. Iris has a unique skill. She can read people so you can't hide anything from her. It's like she can look past your eyes into your brain and know exactly what you think.

"I'm just worried that we will get caught and killed" I say sadly.

"we won't" Iris says comfortingly but I am still worried. She is so sweet and is trying so hard to make me feel better, but it won't work. "Jack we are the perfect team. We have been on the run for basically our whole lives and we aren't dead yet. I mean think about it. We have us who comes up with a brief idea of the plan and the later makes them full proof. Amanda who puts them all together really plans them out and Lily and Reese who lead them. Let's face it they will NEVER catch us. I understand if you're scared, I am too but we are going to get through this. Together. We always have each other's backs." She looks at me her eyes soft. She takes my hand and squeezes it.

"you know there's one thing you forgot when you listed off our useful traits" I say

"really what's that" she says leaning against my shoulder her long, black wavy hair soft on my skin

"your ability to always make people feel better but I guess that comes naturally for you" I say into her ear

"why does it come naturally for me. I'm just like everyone else" she says slightly puzzled.

"no you're not. You're the sweetest person I have ever met." I whisper into her ear. She looks up at me and kisses me.

"well you're the sweetest person I've ever met" she whispers joyfully. The touchy moment is broken.  Iris flinches as we hear Amanda's pained scream. I hate that all these people got shot just to rescue me. I suddenly feel a wave of guilt wash over me. I should of been more careful! I groan a little louder than I intended to. I can't believe it. This is all my fault. Then I remember why we are there, to ESCAPE. I can't believe that we are finally going through with this. I know that I have always wanted to leave but I never thought we would have to go through with this and I may have just ruined it. "I can't believe this. And it's all my fault." I say peering around the corner

"no Its not. None of this is your fault. I tell you this all the time. There are many things many people could have done to make the situation better. MANY people could have done something differently. But we can't change the past. No matter how hard we try. It's best not to dwell on it because that just makes it worse. This is the future. These are the decisions we made and we can't change that." Iris says lightly but firmly "so don't go beating yourself up, Jack. The only one that's mad at you is yourself". It was the wisest thing I have ever heard anyone her age say because it's true.

"you're not mad at me?" I say puzzled I thought that after all of this she would be really mad. I ruined the plan, I was reckless and careless and yet she is not mad.

"No, of course I'm not mad." She says "why would I be"

"Gee, I don't know maybe because I COMPLETELY RUINED the mission all because I was being reckless" I say sarcastically

"I told you it's not your fault Jack no one is mad at you we were all just really worried. We all make mistakes - "

"mistakes THIS bad" I say "it is my fault stop pretending it's not"

"yes, do you remember when your sister tried to rescue her ex and instead almost killed all of us and then dumped him the next day" she says with raised eyebrows

"Yes" I say laughing "who could forget"

"or that one time I tried to make Reese were shoes and she ended up running away and then showed up a week later and told us to never try to make her were shoes again" she says laughing too now

"or when Amanda tried to teach you how to shoot a gun and you ended up shooting it backwards and almost hit some guy" I say wiping tears of laughter from my eyes

"Ok now do you see. No one's mad Jack. We have all messed up before frankly I'm surprised it took you this long." she touches my cheek "we need each other" she puts a hand on my shoulder

"Yo, love birds I need your help" I hear my sisters voice from down the hall. My head snaps around to see my sister standing at the end of the hallway. I notice that her wounds are still fresh and are not patched up. I hoist myself to my feet and help Iris up. I grab her hand and we start off down the hallway together.

"what" I say once I reach my sister

"well I can't yank a bullet out of myself, now can I" she says as if it's obvious "and you are the only one who even understands the stuff I'm saying. I mean god children go read a book or something. I told Reese to dab the wound with the white one and she said which one is that and I tried really hard to explain to her, but god you kids are stupid."

"I'm not a doctor" I say slightly worried now 

"I'll do it" Iris says

"no, you're too sweet the minute you hear me telling you to stop you will" Lily says "Jack has to do it. He doesn't have a soul."

I roll my eyes "and you seriously trust me to give you surgery." I say surprised.

"well who else do I have the sewer rat's because I guaranty, they are smarter than those two over there." she says pointing to Amanda and Reese. "Ooh I could get Muffin to do it that would go great wouldn't it. besides you have a tiny bit of experience so, come on" she sits down on the ground and separates the bottles next to her. The ground is coated with a thick layer of silky red blood. The smell of blood masks the smell of sewer water. The two smells don't mix well and make me sick to my stomach. "Ok Jack I want you to apply the white one then green then blue." I did as she told me to. "ok get the bandages ready. You're going to cut in and dig until you find the bullet. Then you have to get the blade underneath the bullet and pry it out. Apply the liquids green white blue and then start stitching. After that apply them one last time in blue green white. Wrap the bandage around the stiches about 10 times and use the medical tape to wrap it up. Got it."

"ok, white, green, blue. Green white blue. Blue green white. What if I can't find the bullet and end up taking a chunk of your arm and leg." I say worried. I have only ever assisted an operation like this never actually DONE one. And the last person I wanted to do It on was my sister.

"don't worry. If you screw up, then I will take over. I just might take a little longer because I will have to focus over the excoriating pain and keep myself from stopping" She said

"ok" I said trying my best to sound confident. I was really nervous to dig a bullet out of my sister's skin.

"ok I will give you a few tips. 1st no matter how loud I scream and cry and tell you to stop you have to keep going. 2nd don't be nervous because then you will have a harder time doing it. 3rd focus on getting the bullet out and getting it out only. And 4th don't hesitate, go quickly."

"ok" I say a little more confidently.

"oh and Jack" she says in a sweet tone

"yeah"

"try not to kill me" she says

"I'll try" I say. I apply the liquids and count done "3...2...1" I dig the knife into my sister's arm.