Not The One

Chapter Five: In The Parking Lot
by sammo_00

A couple of weeks had passed since Sam stopped by the house and I was upstairs, feeling maniacal and in the middle of murdering a large family on my computer game. It always gave me the strangest pleasure to create a family on Sims and then drown them, or starve them to death, or just make their lives a living hell. I was cackling wildly at my computer when a soft cough made me turn from my screen, my cheeks flushing.

My sister Susan stood in my doorway, looking at me with a weird expression. Cradled in her arms was my cat, a fat lethargic ball of fur with the unlucky name of Seven. Don’t ask me why I had chosen that name for her, but it seemed to fit. She roughly had an IQ of about seven. Besides all that though, I did love the cat, almost more than I loved mass murdering people on my computer.

“What do you want?” I asked quietly, turning back to my computer and exiting the game. Nothing kills a murdering buzz like an impatient look from someone.

“Do you know where Dad put all those puzzles from Granddaddy’s house?” she asked, sitting on my bed and releasing my cat, who promptly rolled over and went back to sleep.

I shrugged. “Did you look in my old room?” I replied. A couple of months ago, I had moved out of my old room and into the empty guest room across the hall. Dr. Simsy said it might be good for me to get out of the room that held such bad memories for me. My old room was now used for storage and the door was closed practically 24/7.

Susan looked at me. “Did I look in your old room?” she scoffed. “If I went in there, I’d get lost and die of starvation before finding the door; there is way too much crap in there.”

I smiled. Of course Suze would say something like that. “Well then I don’t know what to say. Sorry.”

She huffed. “There is nothing to do in this godforsaken house!” she snorted, standing up and walking out of my room.

“You could apply for jobs for me!” I yelled after her, smiling when she laughed sarcastically before heading back downstairs.

I had just turned on iTunes when my phone went off, making me start. Without checking the caller ID, I flipped it open and pressed the phone to my ear.

“Hello?” I said, reaching out to turn the sound off on my computer.

“Mary?” a very familiar voice said. Unwillingly, my body tensed and everything seemed to slow in front of me.

“Who-who is this?” I stammered. Don’t show fear Mary! my inner voice yelled at me.

“Please don’t hang up,” the voice implored.

“Is this Jack?” I said, my voice a little more steady. He can’t hurt you, Mary. He’s just a voice on the phone, I though wildly.

“If I say yes, will you hang up?” he said.

I took a deep breathe and shook my head, as though to dispel the thoughts swirling around. Was I really about to do this? “What do you want? To beg for forgiveness? Because, I hate to break it to you buddy, but you’re not going to be getting it from me.”

“Listen to me Mary, please. You’re in danger, lots of danger.”

I laughed. This guy was an idiot! “In danger from what? Dangerous UV radiation due to the depletion of the ozone? Try to be a bit more clear so I can tell the cops exactly how you threatened me, asshole!” I was shaking so hard, not with fear as I had originally thought, but with rage. All the repressed anger that I had been feeling for the past five months suddenly surged to the surface and I stood, ready to go downstairs and tell my parents to call the cops and finally put this raping bastard behind bars for good. But his next words stopped me cold.

“Your sister, Mary. She’s found a way to get at you,” he said urgently. I fought the urge to laugh wildly.

“Jennifer?” I said incredulously. “How is that possible? She is in a high security facility. There is absolutely no way she can get to me. And don’t even try to scare me. I’m stronger than that now, and you don’t scare me!”

“Just because she can’t get out doesn’t mean that people can’t get in to see her,” Jack insisted. “And people have been seeing her, dangerous people. I think she’s paid people to hurt you. You need to be careful!”

“Just tell me where you are so the police can arrest your raping ass,” I snarled. Who did this guy he was?

“It doesn’t matter; I’m at a pay phone and will be long gone before they even get here. Just be careful please. I don’t want you getting hurt,” he said softly.

“Be careful? Look who’s talking you bastard. Go to hell Jack, and burn with my sister,” I snapped, then flipped my phone shut and sat down heavily. For a moment, I debated whether or not to tell my parents, but then I realized it would probably cause more trouble than anything. Tossing my phone on my bed, I got up and headed downstairs for some food.

The Christmas season was upon us and my parents wanted me to get a job so I wasn’t so unoccupied during the winter break. Of course, they always tell you that finding a job is a piece of cake but I was finding it to be more irksome than anything. I had job experience, of course, but my two previous jobs had practically fallen in my lap. This whole going around the city and looking for the “Now Hiring” signs and then getting the applications, filling them out, and returning thing was getting on my nerves. I had applied to well over a dozen places and not a single one of those places had called me back. That, in my opinion, is the epitome of rudeness but then, what did I know? I couldn’t even carry on a conversation with the guy I liked without insulting him or pushing him away. Not that it mattered. I hadn’t talked to, seen or heard from Sam since that disastrous visit. I didn’t even have any of the roses left to admire; they had wilted rather quickly.

My mother, in all her infinite wisdom, told me it might look better if I followed up my applications with an inquiry in person so I begrudgingly hopped in my car, a battered ’92 blue Jeep Cherokee and drove off to a little shopping center about twenty minutes from my house where I had dropped off six applications.

I had just pulled into a parking spot when my phone rang. I flipped it open. “Hi Mom,” I said happily. “What’s up?”

“I forgot to ask before you left, but can you stop by the drugstore and get your sister some more shampoo?” she asked. “That stuff for color-treated hair.”

I nodded. “Sure Mom, but you better pay me back or I will refuse to do the kitchen ever again!” She laughed and said goodbye.

The first store I stopped at, the manager told me she hadn’t had time to get my background check off so would I mind doing it? It would only cost about two dollars and I could get it done at the Office Max next door. I figured it would look nice if I showed a little initiative and agreed. Bowing my head against the frigid wind, I trudged down the sidewalk to the Office Max. It took me about ten minutes to figure out what to do. Then I wandered around to all the other stores. Unfortunately, at none of the other stores were the managers present, so I just left my name and number.

I headed out to my car, pulling up my coat around my face. I looked up at the sky, at the dark clouds rolling in over the parking lot. If I wasn’t mistaken, we were going to have rain soon, maybe even some snow. My heart leapt. I absolutely love snow!

As I approached my car, however, a large green truck stopped behind it, effectively blocking it in place. Several groundskeeping people hopped off it and, grabbing some buckets out of the back, headed over to the small garden between lots and began doing some work. I called to them, pointing to my car, and one of them looked at me and flashed a smile, then headed towards the truck. I smiled my thanks and went to pull my key out of my purse to unlock the door.

The next thing I knew, there was an hand on my mouth and an arm around my waist. I froze, my mind quickly slipping into a mind-numbing state. But then I felt the first drops of rain on my face, and the near freezing temperature brought me back to life. I began flailing wildly, kicking and waving my arms around frantically. I managed to kick off my car, propelling me and my captor back a few feet and as he struggled not to fall, his hand slipped off my mouth and I began screaming.

“Help me, oh God, someone help me!!” I shrieked, trying to fight the man off of me. He still had one arm around my waist and his other was now around my neck. I could feel increasing pressure and I suddenly found it more difficult to breathe. Just as I was starting to get faint, I heard a funny thump and the arms fell off my body. Immediately, I leaped forward and almost broke my key trying to slam it into the lock. Sobbing with relief, I fell in my car, but as I reached back to slam the door, I happened to look back at the parking lot. There were three guys laid out on the pavement, one of them the guy who had smiled at me. One more guy was on his knees, looking at a blonde guy standing in front of him. As I stared, the blonde guy ruthlessly punched the kneeling guy in the nose and he fell backwards, blood pouring down his face. I saw a glint of light as the guy straightened up and before I could think to look away, I was looking my savior in the face.

It was Jack.

I just gaped at him, my mind incapable of understanding this sudden turn of events. I was, once again, drowning in the blue of his eyes, and failed to see the hand rising in my peripheral vision. Suddenly, something grabbed my wrist and I was pulled head first out of my car, almost slamming into the ground. I landed flat on my back, barely registering a sharp pain in the back of my head, and the man who had grabbed me pinned my body effectively between his legs. I tried flailing but my mind froze when I felt something hard poking me in the thigh.

No God please, not this again. I could feel the tears pricking at my eyes as my body slowly froze. The man leered at me and then bent down, running his tongue slickly up my cheek. I couldn’t even shudder. I just laid there, totally incapable of moving. My mind couldn’t even begin to process what was happening to me, let alone come up with something to get away from it.

I heard a chuckle and then the guy leaned close to my ear. “You’re one fine piece of ass. Jen said you’d be. But orders is orders bitch,” he growled, his breath fanning my ear. Before I could contemplate what he was saying, I felt his hands slide up my body and begin to tighten around my neck. I gasped out a “no,” but my body, already tired from the previous onslaught, did nothing more than begin an even faster spiral into blackness. I heard a vague crunching noise and then I very gratefully slid into the well of darkness opening under me.

I don’t know how long I was out, but I woke slowly to someone shaking me, almost violently. I laid there for a moment before I realized someone was practically yelling my name.

“Mary? Mary? Answer me Mary! Dammit Mary, wake up!” a voice yelled, pounding into my conscious mind. As I rose from the depths, I realized there was something wrapped around my head, impeding my vision. I reached up slowly, but paused when another hand grabbed mine. “No leave that there until the paramedics get here. You got hurt; it’ll slow the bleeding.”

“Jack?” As soon as I realized who was talking to me, who was touching me, I bolted upright, ripping the fabric off my head. I realized that it was a white shirt with splotches of what appeared to be blood and also, that Jack was kneeling by me, shirtless, with blood spatter in his hair and concern in his eyes. “What are you doing here?” I cried frantically.

He sighed and wisely leaned back, giving me my space. “When you hung up on me the other day, I knew you didn’t believe me, so I kind of… took to following you,” he said sheepishly.

“What? Why the hell would you go and do a thing like that?” I asked, blinking back the blood.

“Well—” He was interrupted by the squealing of tires on the pavement. We turned as one and watched an ambulance careen around the corner and halt to a stop right next to us. For the first time, I took a good look around me. There were four guys about twenty feet away from where Jack and I were kneeling, all four of them still breathing. But it was the fifth body, mere feet from my own, that kept my eyes riveted. I could tell by the lack of motion that he was dead and for a moment, I wondered how it had happened. Then I recalled the vague noise I heard right before I passed out and I had to scramble to my feet when I realized that the man had had his neck twisted in a perfect circle. Jack jumped to his feet as well, and reached forward to steady me but I jerked backwards, almost falling to my feet again.

Luckily, one of the paramedics had gotten close enough to grab me before I fell on him. He steadied me and made me sit on the bumper of my car. I avoided looking at Jack, who hovered over the paramedic like a harried mother. The medic poured something on my head that made me whimper in pain, then taped a ridiculously large bandage over the cut.

“There, good as new,” he proclaimed, a smile lighting up his features.

“What, no stitches?” I asked grumpily, immediately regretting it. The guy looked a little hurt, and I felt bad, mainly because he had been so nice, and despite the scar running down the side of his nose, remarkably attractive as well. He laughed, a deep gravelly sound that made my stomach do that weird tingle thing, and I flushed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jack glower at the paramedic which turned to an ugly glare when the guy pulled me to my feet. He held my hand a second longer than necessary and grinned at me again.

“No ma’am. I know a cut when I see it and this doesn’t need stitches. Of course, if you really want them, I’d be more than happy to escort you down there, but I regret I wouldn’t be able to wait four hours with you in the emergency room,” he joked with me. I grinned back at him.

“Well aren’t you the considerate one?” I joked back, trying to ignore the tingling in my hand where he had touched me.

He laughed again, his brown eyes lighting up. “Only to the cute ones,” he said, then he turned to Jack. “Do you have any injuries or anything that need attention sir?” he asked, oblivious to the daggers Jack was shooting in his direction.

Jack grunted, his eyes turning towards me. I just stared back at him hatefully and he finally turned back to the paramedic and shook his head, but pointed towards him at the other bodies strewn across the parking lot. The poor paramedic’s eyes went wide and he yelled at the guys in the ambulance to get here quick! Then he turned to me. “You guys are gonna have to wait around until the cops get here because they’re going to want your statement. Oh and ma’am,” he said, looking straight at me, “you really need to thank your boyfriend here for saving your life.”

“He’s not my—” I started to say, but he had already run off towards the other guys lying on the ground. I turned to Jack to find he had a tight grin on his face and barely disguised triumph in his eyes. “Don’t you fucking say a thing,” I snarled. Then I sat back down on the bumper to wait for the police to show up.


A/N: Thanks for the reviews; they make me feel happy. Of course, I'd be happier with more reviews, but I guess I'll take what I can get. Oh, and in answer to Elle's question: This story is really about Mary and how things happen to her and how she sees things. Maybe later on I'll write a chapter from Jack and/or Sam's POV but for now, anything that happens is the way Mary sees it. And as we both know, unless we're telepathic, it's difficult to tell what is going through a person's eyes. I hope that answers your question a little bit.