24. Jack
TWENTY-FOUR
JACK
That night, Jack was shown to a small tent he would share with his father. Any thought of food made his stomach queasy as he remembered the broken bodies and twisted faces Aareth rummaged through like junk in an old room.
“Are you all right, son?” Marcus asked as he prepared his cot for the night.
“I’m fine, just tired. So much is happening. Who do you think is behind it all?”
“There are quite a few different possibilities, so it’s hard to say. What I do know for certain is that Sloan has nothing to do with this. She’s rough around the edges, but when it comes down to it, we can trust her.”
“I think we can trust Aareth too. He’s been through a lot, but he saved me on the train.”
“Well, whoever our enemies are, at least we know they are not among our allies.”
“I guess that’s a first step. Good night, Dad.”
“Good night, son.”
Jack threw himself onto his cot. He tried to go to sleep, but every time he closed his eyes, he could hear Aareth yelling at him to shoot, to kill the man that was racing toward him.
His dreams were no different. He was on the train again as it sped through the darkness at mind-numbing rate.
He held the steel wand in his hand. Someone was screaming at him to shoot.
It wasn’t Aareth’s voice this time; it was a female voice, coming from someone who he missed very much.
Something was running toward him. All Jack could see in the darkness was the shape of a large bat.
His arm holding the wand rose as the figure approached. He couldn’t fire. The imploring female voice yelled for him to take action, but it was too late. The last thing Jack remembered before he woke was being tackled by a gigantic bat with red eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth.