Instinct (chapter 4)

[SnakeFire]

CHAPTER 4
..................

We had been driving for what seemed to be hours. He mentioned something about Washington, so I was taking a wild guess that we were headed south. Neither one of us spoke. I was still uncomfortable about being in a car with someone who had killed three men in front of me. I tried not to glance at him as much as I was tempted to. I sat in the passenger seat, leaning against the door. Gazing out of the window, I wondered how Jerry was affiliated with my Pap.

I could feel my knuckles pulsing with pain. I knew that one of them had started opening up after I broke the one guy's nose. I held it all back. I wanted to just take out all of that stupid thread that I put in. Jerry had been watching me, and my hands.

Jerry-"I'm going to stop at the next rest area- maybe they'll have some medical supplies."
Kylie-"For your gunshots..."
Jerry-"For your hands."
Kylie-"What are you-"
Jerry-"They mentioned the person that they were looking for had 'possible hand wounds'. How'd you get those cuts?"
Kylie-"....I was pissed.."
Jerry-"At what? You having a slate of metal blocking you between your grandfather who was being murdered?"
Kylie-"That's a question to ask.."
Jerry-"It is. You need to learn how to control your emotions- meaning, you need to control what you do with them."
Kylie-"I didn't know what I was doing."
Jerry-"Didn't know?"
Kylie-"It was like I was watching the whole thing. Like I- I didn't have control. Like I was watching someone else."

Jerry looked at me, like he understood but didn't want to make it look like he did.

We pulled into the rest stop. We were somewhere in New Jersey. I got out of the car, running to the bathroom. Jerry headed towards to an information center. I did my buisness and splashed water on my face. Checking what was once a gash, now a healing scab. I was exhausted, but hyper at the same time. I needed to rest but couldn't afford to.

Heading towards the information center, I heard a whistle. Jerry was sitting at a table eating something at a table. I walked over and sat down across from him. He finished what he was eating (it looked like a sandwich), whiping his hands together. He pulled out a leather bag from his jacket. He reached in and had a thing of peroxide and a cotton ball.

Jerry-"Take 'em off."

Searching for other people, I pulled off my gloves. My right hand was bleeding through the gauze. He took my hands, unraveling the gauze from my right knuckles. I was ashamed to see the injuries that I had inflicted on myself. It was also infected- you didn't need to touch it for me to get a sensation of raw, soar flesh. He poared some peroxide on the cotton, and wiped it over the open, rotting wound. The muscles in my neck flexed, after what felt like acid started eating at my skin.

Jerry-"First, we're gunna take out this crap that you put in there."

He had a small pair of scissors in the bag. He cut the knot that I had holding the stitches together. Beginning to pull the thread, I realized how thick it was, tugging at my skin. Holding back every curse word that I knew, I forced my eyes open.

Jerry-"You ok?"
Kylie-"Just take it out."
Jerry-"Sure thing."

After the thread was out, he looked inside of the wound. It wasn't bleeding as much, but still needed to be restitched. You could tell that he was mostly looking at the metal, that seemed to be covering the bones. He grabbed a hooked needle and some REAL stitching thread.

Kylie-"How did you know my grandfather?"
Jerry-"He was one of my teachers."
Kylie-"What did he teach you?"
Jerry-"Everything we needed to know."
Kylie-"Like fighting and stuff?"
Jerry-"No. He prepared us for training if anything."
Kylie-"He put the metal skeletons in you all..."
Jerry-"Yeah.. But we wanted it. He gave us a choice."

He said that last part to make it sound like grandpa wasn't the bad guy. I knew already. He had finished stitching up that hand, and got started on the next one. My left hand was fine- it was actually closed as a scab almost. All he had to do was take out the thread and cover it with some gauze.

Jerry-"Lets go."

After getting my seatbelt fixed, Jerry threw me an apple. He wanted me to eat something, since all I had was a little tea. I ate it, my jaws chomping like they hadn't been used for ages.

Jerry-"Now we're going to pick up a friend."
Kylie-"How many friends are we going to be picking up?"
Jerry-"Just one for now."

Watching him, I noticed that his face hadn't changed since I first saw him in the diner. He was a machine, never showing any sign of emotion. Thinking about machines, I started asking him about the unnatural metal in my body.

Kylie-"Why did they put metal in me?"
Jerry-"The same reason that they put metal in me you'd think."
Kylie-"What is it?"
Jerry-"Titanium."
Kylie-"I am guessing that it is all over the body."
Jerry-"Just the bones and skull. But they replaced our joints completely."
Kylie-"Now why is that?"
Jerry-"Titanium is a lot stronger than calcium. Bones break easily when enough pressure is applied- but not Titanium. Titanium was used so when we were sent to our missions, we would last much longer."
Kylie-"Missions.... I don't even want to know."
Jerry-"What?"
Kylie-"Titanium skeletons, sniper skills- were you an assassin?"
Jerry-"We assassinated the right people."
Kylie-"And who would the right people be- terrorists?"
Jerry-"Yes."

Listening to him talk gave me the chills. He didn't seem worried about anything. I had so many emotions racing through my head.

Kylie-"Why did they want me?"
Jerry-"I don't know."
Kylie-"Those guys knew some stuff about me. But, how did they know where I was?"
Jerry-"Well, let's just say that they didn't just put titanium on our bones."

[SnakeFire]

Jerry explained to me about the chip that was inserted into my neck, which linked to my brain. He explained how that chip was a sort of tracking device. It was small, but its presense was known. I felt like I was going to have a mental-breakdown from all of this.

Kylie-"I can't believe this. I had such a normal life. I was happy, grandpa was happy. The only time that I had ever seen him angery was after-"

The letter. I forgot about it completely. Noticing my pause, Jerry responded.

Jerry-"After what?"
Kylie-"My grandpa had a letter in the mail for him. He was so mad from reading it. Talking about hating someone-"
Jerry-"Jonice Henrickson."
Kylie-"Who?"
Jerry-"He used to be a colleague and friend of your grandfather. And one of my teachers."
Kylie-"How do you know that it was from him?"
Jerry-"He sent me one.."
Kylie-"He was the one who told you about me."
Jerry-"I already knew about you."
Kylie-"How?"
Jerry-"Your father was my friend."

Once again, I was taken-a-back hearing about my father. Being told a few things about my mom, I hadn't heard anything about my dad. Only from early this morning and now.

Kylie-"My dad..."
Jerry-"Yeah."
Kylie-"My grandpa never told me about him."
Jerry-"With good reason I would assume."
Kylie-"Me knowing about him, would have put me in danger?"
Jerry-"You dad was... knee deep in something that he couldn't get out of."
Kylie-"Oh."

I felt bad, thinking about what my dad went through. Jerry seemed to not care about the whole situation. Like a statue- you wondered and were in complete thought, but in the end, all you were looking at was rock.

Kylie-"Where does your friend live?"
Jerry-"Garfield."
Kylie-"Nice."
Jerry-"Last I heard, he's been moving around all over the place- sometimes you have to make do."
Kylie-"I know."

I fell asleep for two hours, laying against the car window. When I woke up feeling the car engine turn off, I was startled. It didn't feel like I was just sleeping- I had been so used to having strange dreams, that I didn't have a good nights rest without them.

I stepped out of the car, stretching my back and waking up my left foot. I looked around, at the sun setting. You couldn't see much of it; during the autumn and winter months, the clouds are hard to get away from. I watched Jerry as he was walking towards an old apartment building. I ran up behind him, keeping with his pace. It was amazing- I didn't feel all to comfortable around him yet, but I was kean to sticking with him. We had something in common, and he killed three men protecting me- I might as well give him the time of day.

Kylie-"How long has it been since you've seen him?"
Jerry-"A very long time- to long."
Kylie-"You can't keep in touch with things like you used to."
Jerry-"You sure can't."

There was a door leading into the inside. There was probably five steps. I ignored the smell coming from the dumpster, to the right of me. We started walking up a flight of stairs. He must have been on the top floor- we just kept on climbing. The look of the place was really bland- just a grey color. With night coming, we didn't have to much light to see our way. Finally, he stopped in front of a door, at the top of the stairs.

He knocked on the door. No one answered. He pressed his ear to the door, listening for some movement. He could hear something, as could I. I thought that maybe we should wait- I've been in the bathroom before with people knocking. Not a very good experience. He tried opening the door, but it was locked from the inside. With no answer, after Jerry's yelling at the door, I came to the conclusion that the person was not home. Leaning on the wall to the right of the door, I waited.

Kylie-"Guess he's not there."
Jerry-"Maybe."
Kylie-"We've been here for ten minutes. I don't knnow about you, but I have never waited ten minutes listening to someone yelling outside of my front door."
Jerry-"Let's take a look."

Just than he ripped out the door knob- from both sides. My eyes looked like they were about to come out of their sockets, as he dropped the knob on the ground, walking in. Seeing this, I knew that he must have meant buisness.

I walked in after him, disgusted by the mess that was this man's home. Dirty clothes hanging off and on everything, cans of beer crushed and empty, dust clumps that could be compared to the size of my head, this was one of those reasons that I was glad to have had chores. I looked into what seemed to be a living room, with a tv, and a couch. I could see Jerry, staring at a body, flopped on the couch. This man on the couch was bald, and in a strange way, handsome. He looked just about as messed up as his apartment.

Jerry-"You are a f*cking mess."
-"Who said what?"

The man shot up, looking like he was going to take a grab at Jerry's neck. He stopped though, looking at him, trying to contemplate who he was looking at. Soon after, a look of surprise showed.

-"Jerry? Jeremiah? JERRY!"
Jerry-"How are ya' Jake?"

For the first time I was shocked at Jerry. He was smiling! Showing emotion! It was the highlight of that day, watching him and this man, Jake, giving hugs and shaking hands.

Jake-"Wow- I'm sorry about the mess. Usually not in the mood to impress."
Jerry-"So, what's with all of the beer?"
Jake-"What else do I have to do?"
Jerry-"You are one practical guy."
Jake-"d*mn straight! So what are you-"

He looked over, just noticing that I was standing there.

Jake-"Who's she?"
Jerry-"That's Kylie. Kylianna Thompson."
Jake-"Kylie- wait a minute! What's goin' on?"
Jerry-"We have a lot to talk about."

Jerry sat Jake down near a little glass table in the kitchen, telling him about my grandfather. He went from happy to stern in a matter of seconds. The look on his face scared me. So angry. He must have been close to Pap like Jerry was. He told him about the three guys that wanted to take me, or kill me. He crossed his arms, tensing up. Since they were in a heavy discussion about the past events, I walked out, scooting the door knob around. I sat down at the foot of the stairs. I sprawled my fingers over my knees, then feeling a jerk on my right hand. Picking it up, feeling the discomfort of moving it around, I tried not to cry. Not because it hurt, but because of the pain reminding me of what caused it. Remembering the sound of his body hitting the floor, after the gun was fired. I hated the thought of it being my fault. I missed him. Thinking about it all, I grabbed the butterfly around my neck. I never understood the whole point of the butterfly. Than it happened.


I had a twinge in the back of my neck. Goosebumps raised all over my body. A strange and random chill went down my spine. I could feel it- the chip in my neck. As soon as this started happening, I could hear Jerry and his friend Jake running out here. Did they feel it too? Jerry pulled out his gun and Jake grabbed a double barrel shotgun out from underneath his couch. Jake was already dressed in a tank and denim jacket, with jeans and boots on. He ran down the stairs, passing me. I got up, wanting to know what in the H*ll was going on.

Jerry-"Are you good with a gun?"
Kylie-"What?- Yeah, I guess."
Jerry-"You guess or you're sure?"
Kylie-"What do you want me to do?"
Jerry-"Your bag is in the car- d*mn. We need to get you out of here."

As we were talking, you could hear gunshots being fired downstairs. Our ears were filled with the sound of bullets being released from their shells. Jerry and I both jumped down stairs, trying to catch up with Jake. I could only think of the worst.

Good thing my predictions were wrong- Jake was sitting there, loading up more rounds. He was ducked down near the door that we had come through. Jerry knelt down across from him- I couldn't sit. My addrenaline was rushing all over. Being that excited, I just kept on standing.

Jake-"Just like the good ol' days."
Jerry-"Nothing better."

[SnakeFire]

Jake opened up the door slowly. As he just peaked through, bullets were fired into the building, bouncing off walls. I finally knelt down, covering my head. Jerry and the other man just sat there, not flinching, not showing any sign of fear.

Jake-"So here's the plan. We are going to cover you, while you get the car and everything in it. Pull it to the back. They will try and follow you. Before they catch up, get my car. Here's the key."
Jerry-"I know. Take this Kylie."

He handed me his 44. This sucker was huge. Just than I thought about it.

Kylie-"And what do you want me to do with this?"
Jerry-"Kill people with it- what else are guns for?"

He winked, and than bolted outside. The gunshots were sparatic, going off in no specific order.

Jake-"So, you knew in this game?"
Kylie-"Definitely."
Jake-"Eh, don't worry- if you're anything like your pops, you'll be the quick study."

His humor in this situation was a little off, but at least he had a personality.

Jake-"Now, when I open this door, don't just shoot anywhere- aim for something."
Kylie-"Ok. Anything?"
Jake-"Well, don't not try to hit the bad guys."
Kylie-"How many are there?"
Jake-"It doesn't matter."
Kylie-"Of course it matters- are you insane?!"
Jake-"A little, but that's beside the point. No matter how many men, they are out to kill me and to get you. One or 20- they are the threat."
Kylie-"Just tell me so I don't feel like there is no hope."
Jake-"There's five of them."
Kylie-"I don't want to kill anyone!"
Jake-"Neither do we- you just sit there. I'll do the dirty."


He swung the door open. We both ran out, as the bullets came pooring. These men were dressed exactly like the ones who were after me before. Except, there was a woman with them this time, and only four. The car was gone, so Jerry must have gotten it. Where was the fifth person? I ran behind a dumpster, while Jake jumped behind another car, parked in a lot next door to the apartments. I didn't know what to do. They were all firing at each other. Than, they started fring at me. I was right handed, and couldn't shoot with my right hand. I fixed the gun in my left hand, trying to see if I had some control. It's not that I couldn't control it- it just felt weird.

Holding the gun, I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Killing someone, was not a past time for me. Shaking, I looked over at Jake- he was loading up the shotgun again. I wasn't going to shoot anyone if I didn't have to. I just hid, behind the dumpster with the smell of old food in my nostrils. I looked over at him again. Oh no! I thought to myself. Looking past him for a brief second, I saw the missing man, dressed in the same apparel that the three men had on. The man was on a roof on another building. He was holding what looked like a Soviet. He was going to shoot him from behind!

I have to do this. He's on my side! I picked up my left arm, pulling back the hammer, aiming for the man. I looked at him, lining him up with my sights. I couldn't hold still. I was about to shoot someone. SHOOT THEM! I am only 16 years old, and I can't do it. But, I also didn't want to have this man's death on my conscience. I brushed off all of the fear, steadying my grip. Without thinking a second thought, I pulled the trigger.

I almost had him. It struck his head, but not center. The bullet passed his ear, blowing it off. Jake looked over at me, after hearing the shot. He turned and watched the man fall to the roof top's floor.

Jake-"Sh*t! Nice shot!"

I couldn't think. Everything was blank. I thought that it would be harder to shoot someone. But, it wasn't. I felt like a monster, for not feeling anything.

Jake ran over to me- he had killed two, so two were left. I knew that the man I shot wasn't dead. We started running to the back- Jerry was sitting in the Lincoln Navigator, looking out the window. I opened up the back door, sitting in the seat, panting. We all drove off. I was quiet the whole time. I fell asleep again, hoping that I wouldn't wake up. They started driving towards D.C.

Jerry-"What's with her?"
Jake-"She shot a man."
Jerry-"It always sucks the first time."

[TheDarkPrince]

Bl**dy hell. You're good at this. I think I've found a bit of inspiration for my own story.

[Trunksangel79]

Nice job.It's a awesome story.

[SnakeFire]

TheDarkPrince said:

Bl**dy hell. You're good at this. I think I've found a bit of inspiration for my own story.

*blushes*

My story inspiring?

[~*Hieislove*~]

Wow Snake, I love it ;D Nice chapter

[TheDarkPrince]

SnakeFire said:

*blushes*

My story inspiring?

Yuh-huh. The whole idea of having difficulty killing someone. I think I'll incorporate that into Wolvesbane. Thx.

[SnakeFire]

The difficulty is going to be a lot more intense. Scary almost...

[Tsunade]

*sniffles* Another awesome chapter Snake!!!! ;D

[BlackCoven]

This story really is great, excellent job there snake. I hope you finish this one

[SnakeFire]

HEY! I will, lol. You should read chapter 5- I'll post 6 soon...