Instinct (Chapter 5)

[SnakeFire]

CHAPTER 5
....................

-"So when do you think dad is going to pick us up?"
-"I don't know- sometime soon."
-"ARRGH- he always does this!"
-"One day, he'll be on time."

There were two boys, probably twelve and ten. The ten year old was of course complaining, while the older brother was trying to be understanding. Listening to them, they did not act their age. They both had dark brown hair, one with blue eyes, and the other with grey. Than, the setting all around me changed.

There was a room. I tip-toed my way into the room, and there was a group of kids. I recognized two of them as being those same little boys, but older. They were both wearing sparring outfits and uniforms, along with the other kids. I was guessing that the two of them were brothers, the way they were talking about "their" father. They looked about 13 and 15 now. The younger brother was now fighting against another boy about his age, with blonde hair and a scar on his cheek. It looked more like a competitive fight, instead of personal. The older, standing to the side, was watching his brother fight. The younger brother was using moves that I had once learned- in ninjutsu. He blocked all of the shots from his apponent, ending the fight with a beautiful hurricane kick, and a hit to his neck with the side of his hand. A man walked into the room applauding the little brother. With his brother standing right behind him, the man seized the young boy's hand, shaking it diligently. Smiling, I looked around the room. There were so many kids and teenagers, dressed up in the same clothes, that the man I saw could easily be noticed. He was wearing a suit jacket with a pair of jeans. He looked so familiar, in the face. But, I couldn't think of anyone-


Waking up, I was in a bed. I was startled when I wasn't in the car. Where was I? I looked around- it was just a bedroom. Scrambling out of the bed, I went to the door. Tossing my sweater to the ground, I could see that the lights were on, so the other two must have been up. I was looking down a thing of stairs, covered with carpet. I quietly walked down, not to be to subtle.

I looked around a corner- I could see Jake, making some tea. Whistling to nothing, he was wearing a wifebeater, with a pink apron wrapped around his waist. Than you had Jerry. He was sitting, loading up a numerous amount of guns, with different weapons laying out on the table. Once again, no emotion on his face. I tried sneaking by them to get to the bathroom-

Jake-"Look who decided to wake up."

I froze in my tracks. Slumping, I walked into the kitchen.

Kylie-"Hi."
Jake-"Good morning to you too!"
Kylie-"What time is it?"
Jake-"A little after 4..."
Kylie-"d*mn."
Jake-"Eh- you'll get used to waking up early."
Kylie-"Well, I don't know about either one of you, but I am going to wash the nastiness off of me..."
Jake-"There's shampoo and conditioner and all of that girly stuff.."
Kylie-"Where are we anyway?"
Jake-"Atlantic City- still in Jersey."
Kylie-"Heh.."

Jerry and I traded looks- I don't know what kind of look. Me saying "Hi to you too" with my face, I headed towards the bathroom. On the sink, there was shampoo, conditioner, a soap bar, wash cloth, toothbrush, toothpaste, and razors- I needed those razors. There was also a blow dryer...

Checking out my greasy hair, I turned on the shower head, to warm up the water. Taking off my clothes, I was careful to not use my right hand that much. With the gauze tightly rolled around it, I couldn't feel to much from the stitches. I unwrapped my left hand- still healing nicely. I stepped into the shower, with the exhiliration from the warm water hitting my skin.

I washed my hair at least three times before anything. Same thing with the soap- I felt so gross. After shaving my pits, I was finally done. I turned off the water, and than squeezed some of the water out of my hair. I wrapped a towel around me, and brushed my teeth.

After drying my hair with the ever needed hair dryer, picking up a wad of clothes, I walked out, looking around for the two guys. I couldn't hear or see either one. I flew back to the room that I woke up in. I looked around-my bag was on the floor next to a closet door. I dug through there, trying to see if I had possibly packed myself a baggy shirt- I didn't exactly pick out my favorite clothes. All I could find was a black shirt, almost like an Under Armor shirt, and a pair of khaki pants. Thank goodness the pants were baggy- it made up for the shirt, exagerating the size of my muscles. It was a comfy get-up, none the less.

I picked up the grey sweater that I woke up in, hanging it off of my forearm. Taking a peak outside of my room, there was still nobody around. Where were they? I traveled the whole of the small house that I was in- it was a two story, and very nice. After searching for the two, I made my way to the kitchen, drooling at the thought of food. I skipped, all excited, to the refridgerator, with the assumption of me getting something to eat. I slung it open, and to my dismay, there wasn't anything but a stick of butter and some cottage cheese.

Kylie-"d*mn..."

My stomach was lurching, the hunger pains knocking the wind out of me. I crawled to the living room, clmbing on the couch, holding my stomach. Staring at the ceiling, trying to get off of the hunger, I began thinking about the dream that I had. The two boys- were they important? And who was the man that I swore I recognized? Laying there, in wonderment, I was alarmed to hear the sound of the door open. I practically hit the ceiling that I had been staring at, looking down at Jerry with a McDonald's bag. A sigh of relief came out, followed by the excitement of food.

Stuffing myself with two double cheeseburgers and a large thing of frenchfries, the two of them looked on in amazement, like it was a sight to be remembered.

Jake-"I thought only animals did that."
Kylie-"I don't care who does it, as long as it gets the food into my tummy as fast as humanly possible." *says with a mouthful of burger*
Jake-"Heheh- what ever floats yer' boat."
Jerry-"Your hand's healing."

I stopped, looking up at him. He was sitting across from me, eating like he was a bird- very slow. He still had that placid look on his face, that never seemed to go away. I set what was left of my food down, whiping my hands off.

Kylie-"This one is- but the right is still bad."
Jake-"Let me see."
Kylie-"What- right now?"
Jake-"With the things that I have seen in my life, a little cut won't do much."

I unwrapped my right hand, exposing the still healing cut. Jake pulled my hand towards him, looking at it contentively.

Jake-"Wow- you did some damage."
Jerry-"Sure did."
Kylie-"Yeah, I know."
Jake-"You're going to get one mean scar from that."

He was right. You could already see the tough pink skin that had set in. I took my hand back from Jake, with my esteem growing lower over the scar.

Jake-"You know they say that scars can bring up some good stories."
Kylie-"Yeah- but I don't like the story this one tells."

I got up from the table, walking away from the kitchen. I left Jake wanting to say something else and Jerry with that same placidness. I went straight to my room.

Jake-"Poor kid. She's been through some stuff."
Jerry-"She has."
Jake-"SOOooo- how are you feeling about all of this?"
Jerry-"I don't like what I feel like."
Jake-"You feel like an ass."
Jerry-"Yeah."
Jake-"And why is that?"
Jerry-"Because I could have done something."
Jake-"To stop the inevitable- you haven't changed. Everyone knew that this was going to happen, sometime or another."
Jerry-"I changed 15 years ago. I don't need to change."
Jake-"You know, you could just-"
Jerry-"What, tell her?"
Jake-"It couldn't be such a bad thing."
Jerry-"I think it could."

[SnakeFire]

In my room, I sat on at the end of the bed, rewrapping my scarred hand. I knew that each and everytime that I would see that scar, I would be reminded. After I was done, I reached out for the roll of tape that I placed next to me, but because I was getting excited over thinking about certain things, I accidently knocked it over. I watched it roll, turn, and go under the bad. Making a sigh, I got on my knees, on the floor, looking under the bed for the stupid tape. It was far underneath. I ended up having to force the whole top half of my body under, getting rugburn on my cheek. With my right arm behind my back, I extended the left hand, dragging the roll with my middle and index fingers. I started doing a reverse crawl from underneath the bed. After I was free from being squished, I bit off two small pieces, to keep the gauze tight. I got up, getting ready to go back out. What happened next was so sudden.

I began feeling like I had weights all over my body. Each second that passed, they got heavier and heavier. I started losing my breath. My heart was bouncing out of my chest. I wanted to call out for help, but I couldn't. Choking up, I fell to my knees, again. Everything went numb. I shut down.


Opening my eyes, I was in the dark. The taste of lead was in my mouth, as I must have been bleeding. I got myself up, cracking my neck. I didn't have any idea of what was going on- no recollection of this place or how I got there. I started walking around, holding out my arms to see if I could feel something. It was like Pit and the Pindulum all over again- I kept on stepping forward, but could only feel the cool, musk air. Than a blow to the back knocked me to the ground. It was like a steel pole. The pain from the hit was so extreme I couldn't breath. There was someone else in the dark with me. I didn't know what to do.

-"Giving up so easily are you?"

I looked behind me, looking for someone- anyone. I tried getting up again, but another blow came. My eyes began to water- the blow split into my back. I must have been wacked in the face earlier- I was spitting up blood, still. Again, I tried getting up with my legs crumbling from underneath me. And again, I was made to hit the floor, with each and every single hit.

I laid on the ground. If I got up I would just be getting hit again- falling again. That's when noticed- I could see. It wasn't the clearest in a room where the lights were turned off but, I could see. I looked around- my eyes must have been adjusting to the dark. I got up, one last time. I stood there, waiting for the person to try and hit me again. I could hear the person walking up behind me- he was trying to be quiet. They took a swing at me. I turned, bending my elbow in, and blocked the pole with my forearm. Grabbing it with my right hand, I knew that I would be playing tug-o-war.

-"You have blocked it- but can you take it away from me?"

He was a man. An older man.

-"I don't need to."

I grabbed with my left right below the right, and turned the opposite direction. With all of my strength, I threw him, still holding to the pole, over my left shoulder. I than tripped him, swinging it through his legs. Spinning it like a bowstaff, I smacked his face, than shoving the end of the pole against his neck. Out of breath, I looked at this man, not being able to see his face. I could hear his breathing- as deep as mine. But his was calmer- he began to laugh.

-"You have done well today. Turn on the lights."

I dropped the pole, as the darkness turned into light. The light was deadly to my eyes- I could feel my pupils get tight and small. Trying to see the mans face that was blocked from my sight because of the glare, I blocked the light. Holding my hand to my forehead, I could see him. He got himself up, dusting off what looked like sweat pants. He looked like he was in his late 50s, with his gray hair. There was something about him that made me uncomfortable. He walked up to me, but wasn't "looking" at me. He was blind. You could tell from his clouded eyes. He began talking to me, as I was whiping blood off of my teeth.

old man-"Good job child. You are getting closer."
Kylie-"What are you talking about?"
old man-"Closer to understanding your purpose."
Kylie-"Who are you?"
old man-"Someone that you will know in time."

He walked away from me, but I yelled back to him.

Kylie-"It wasn't a fair fight! I could see- you couldn't. So whatever I'm supposed to have learned or accomplished, I didn't."

He stood there, looking old and frail. For some reason I felt horrible for knocking him to his feet.

old man-"I live my life in the dark. You don't. So it wasn't fair to you."

I was left there in wonderment. Before he reached the door, I had to ask.

Kylie-"I know this may be cliche`, but, is this a dream?"
old man-"You can say that."

[SnakeFire]

Waking up, I was sprawled out on the floor. I took my finger, rubbing it in my mouth to see if I was bleeding. I wasn't.

Kylie-"What in the H*ll?"

I tried to not start to much of a comotion. I looked at my hand- in the dream, it wasn't cut or stitched. Practically running the door over, I ran towards the bathroom, when I saw something that caught my eye.

Jerry was sleeping on the couch. He was like a picture- motionless. If you didn't look hard enough you may have thought that he was dead. I was very curious about him. I knew nothing about him, yet, he was protecting me.

Jake-"Why were you running?"

I looked into the kitchen. Jake was sitting there, cleaning a gun.

Kylie-"Oh- I thought that I had to go to the bathroom."
Jake-"And you don't now?"
Kylie-"Guess I waited to long."

I went into the kitchen, and sat down at the table, across from Jake. I was also curious about him, but not as much as Jerry.

Kylie-"I've been wanting to ask-"
Jake-"You want to know about Jerry."
Kylie-"Yeah."
Jake-"That's some guy right there."
Kylie-"Is he really asleep, or just-"
Jake-"He's asleep. He hasn't slept for like two days."
Kylie-"Oh."

We sat there, with him cleaning, in an awkward silence. I noticed a cigarette behind his right ear. He just kept on polishing, like I wasn't there. My eyes were plastered to him.

Jake-"So, you wanted yo know about Jerry?"
Kylie-"I don't want to know to much. But, he is so, I don't know-"
Jake-"I think that he is way to serious- professional like."
Kylie-"I just don't know to much about him."
Jake-"He and I, were a part of a team. A group, if you will. We usually went in, if there was a hostage situation, or just a terrorist group trying to plan an attack. Jerry, came in young, so it all was a bigger influence to him, both mentally and physically, than it was on us old people."
Kylie-"How old are you?"
Jake-"Eh- 37. I'm not that much older than he is. But, he came in before I did."
Kylie-"I see... So, you both, knew my grandfather?"

Jake stopped what he was doing. He sighed, putting the gun and cloth on the table. He scooted his chair up, to where he was looking directly at me.

Jake-"Your grandfather, was our teacher, and stuck with us and his other students until we were considered 'men'."
Kylie-"So, he is the reason why you both are here?"
Jake-"We have a lot of reasons for doing this. Hopefully, we'll get this whole thing straightened up."

I still couldn't understand this "whole thing". There was an infinite amount of questions that I wanted to ask. But, I didn't want to. I don't know why- was afraid to know? or that I just didn't want to know? I was so afraid. I didn't want to know why all of these people were after me. I didn't want to know why my Pap had to die. In all of this fear came questions, that I supressed myself from asking. I glanced at Jake while getting up to walk away. I didn't even know where I was going. I stood in the middle of this house, trying to think of a place to go. After the dream, I wanted to go to the bathroom- I don't even remember why. Than, I found myself looking out of the window. I could see the sun rising, with a beach being carved from the waves that were polishing the sand.

Kylie-"I'm going outside."
Jake-"Ok..?"

I kept an easy pace going to the door, with the hard ass sleeping six feet away. Not wanting to wake him (who knows how grumpy he could be), I made sure that it took me over 30 seconds to open and close the door.

The first thing that I felt was the wind- chilly, but not to bad. I crossed my arms, rubbing the areas that weren't covered. I leaned on a deck, placing my elbows down on the rough wood. Smelling the salty air from the waves corroding to shore, I began to think about the dream. I thought about the blind man and his wise words. But one thing stuck- "Your purpose". My purpose? What did he mean by that? I didn't know what to think about the dreams that I have had. Were they just random thoughts? A part of me wanted them to be fake. But, you always have the one side that doesn't go your way. If those were real- I thought- than what was my purpose? I had these two guys, acting as my guardians (more like security guards) against these men that had "orders" to kidnap me. And than these dreams- they started not to long ago. Were the dreams somehow connected to these events?

Thinking about all of these things for some reason, led me into thinking about my parents. Grabbing at the pendant around my neck- the butterfly- I tried to think about what they looked like. I wish that I had known them. I wished that they were there to protect me, instead of Pap. Having no mother was hard- through me getting older and not having any influence. Having no dad was hard as well, not having him to play with me when I was little, or to get to possesive when it came to me and boys. I didn't have to much of a normal life; I got out of public school in the first grade, because I was learning at a different speed compared to the other kids. I didn't know too many people, besides the ones that were family to Pap's friends.

I had it ok growing up- my Pap was very fair with me. After the accident in Tae Quan Do, he didn't stop me from fighting. He put me into a ninjutsu class instead. That, was my kind of thing. He must have known my teacher- Charles Morgan. I called him "Charlie" just because he wanted me to. He didn't call me Kylie- he called me Kylianna. He said that it was a beautiful name and didn't understand why anyone would want to be called anything different. He was from England; I don't know from where in England. So, he and my grandpa were the only ones that I knew.

The front door was opened from the inside. Jake walked on the porch, leaning on the balcony about two feet away from me. Pulling the cigarette from behind his ear,he dug into his pants pocket to find a zippo lighter.

Kylie-"So, you drink and smoke? Nice combo for an early death."
Jake-" For f*ck sakes- I get that kind of talk from Jerry, enough. Now you?"
Kylie-"Hey- I don't care. If it makes you happy, than do it."
Jake-"Eh- It doesn't make me happy- takes your mind off of things."
Kylie-"What kind of things?"
Jake-"The kind that you don't make a conversation out of."

I wondered what kind of stuff would make you drink your life away. I had an idea about what they had done- they must have been like a global SWAT team. But, I don't know what they actually did. I thought about how many people they must have killed- people they didn't even know. Watching them both, but most of all Jerry, kill. It was like an art in how they did it. In ninjutsu, Charlie always told me not to use the art unless it was truly needed. To protect yourself and others. When Jerry snapped that man's wrist, and the way he was biting at him with his words- either he was a monster, or this whole thing hit him on a personal level. Either way, they were both comfortable with someone's death on their hands. They probably got used to the feeling by now.

Jake, leaning over the balcony, inhaled and exhaled. Each time the ashes from the lit ended would turn into an orange ember, than settle.

Kylie-"You knew my father."

Somewhat startling him, Jake coughed out some of the smoke.

Jake-"You can say that I still do know him."
Kylie-"He's.... He's alive?"

Jake looked like he was sruggling to say the right words.

Jake-"He's been dead for a while now."
Kylie-"I could have guessed. Just like mom."
Jake-"Heh- your mother. You can tell that you were her kid."
Kylie-"In what way?"
Jake-"You look just like her.."

He flicked the remainder of his cigarette over the balcony. I watched it tumble down a mound of sand that was pushed against the house. I just looked out, back to the waves.

Jake-"But, something in your face- just makes me think of your pops.'

Shutting the door, all I could do was give out a relaxed sigh. I followed behind him, getting inside.

All I know is that Jerry was packing up, getting ready to leave. Jake came out from a room near the bathroom, with a bag of his things.

Jerry-"We are leaving."
Kylie-"I can see that."
Jake-"Let's make this quick."

I ran back into my room, grabbing my bad. I made a stop in the bathroom to get the toothpaste and brush- not to mention my life the razor.

We scrambled our things and set for th Denali. Jerry and I went straight for the car- Jake went to pay for our stay. Jerry got in the passenger seat, and I behind the driver's seat. We both sat in the car, once again with the awkward silence. Neither one of us made an attempt to say something to the other. I don't know what was between us- it was just awkward.

Kylie-"Oh crap."
Jerry-"Huh?"
Kylie-"I left my sweater in the house."
Jerry-"Nope- it's in your bag."

Sure enough, it was. He must have put it in there while I was outside.

Kylie-"Thanks."
Jerry-"Anytime."

It may not have been progress enough, but we spoke. Jake came running to the car, jumping in the driver's seat. He looked at the two of us, glancing from me to Jerry.

Jake-"So where are we going to next?"
Jerry-"D.C."
Jake-"Sounds like fun to me!"

We drove off, with Jerry shaking his head at what Jake said, with me forcing back a smile.

[~*Hieislove*~]

Nice chapter snake , but jake seems alittle freakky to me , I like Jerry

[TheDarkPrince]

Once again, great chapter, but the dream was a little weird. One thing freaked me out though; "blonde hair and a scar on his cheek,"... that's what I look like...

[SnakeFire]

The dreams are going to be little parts, but important parts of the story.

LOL- Jake is awesome! But I like Jerry the most...

[Trunksangel79]

Good chapter.The story is awesome.Keep up the good job.