Jen Air: Out There

  *****

  Jennifer collapsed against a trunk, then forward with her hands on her knees as her chest heaved up and down. “I think…” she said under her breaths, “I think we lost them.”

  “Yeah,” Kaya said, a little less worn out than the others, “but where’s Tom?”

  Not far. Sayuri screeched as she was suddenly struck and flung aside, the mercenary then jabbing Kaya in the face with a stick as he moved forward. “You ladies wanted to speak to me?” He said, facing Jen.

  The blonde looked a moment into his wild, hate filled eyes before pushing herself from the tree trunk and attempting to put some distance between them. He threw the branch away and quickly ran her down, bunching up her hair in his hands and pulling her up. Jennifer did all she could to fight back, scratching and clawing at any exposed flesh she could find, but the mercenary didn’t appear to even notice her efforts. Soon he had his arm constricting around her throat.

  “Shhh… go to sleep,” he cooed. Jen felt the fog moving in, herself slipping away into it. But then Tom’s head juddered and he let go. He stood back, his hand feeling the back of his skull as he turned into another swing from a bloody nosed Kaya with the same branch that he’d hit her with.

  Tom staggered back, obviously finding it hard to focus as Kay jumped at him with a fist. He retaliated with a few jabs and a hook that sent her spinning, but she came back around and hit him back with a hook of her own. She came forward with some body blows and then an uppercut which sent him down.

  “Think you’re tough?” The punk spat. “Did you know my dad was a fighter? You should have met him about ten years ago.”

  Tom groaned, slowly turning himself onto his belly and planting his hands on the ground beneath him while Kaya looked on bloodied and wild eyed.

  “Come on,” she ground her teeth, gesturing as she readied to pounce, “get up. Get up!”

  He did, although likely not because she demanded. It wasn’t clear he could really hear anything at this point. But he groggily rose, only to have his nose busted and then Kaya fell on him, raising her fist and then letting it drop on him again and again and again, until…

  “That’s enough,” Jen said. Kay didn’t hear, until her friend was knelt beside her with arms gently over her shoulders. “Kay… that’s enough. He’s done.”

  “Yeah…” Kaya leant her head toward her friend and let the adrenaline drain out. Then punched him one more time, just to make sure he stayed down.

  After she had her breath back as well, Jen found Tom’s backpack. He had a few hard drives and other bits and pieces. She couldn’t risk anyone else getting hold of the information, so she borrowed a little bit of explosive and then put it back, live, making sure everyone was a safe distance away before setting it off.

  “We can just leave him for the security force to find,” Jennifer suggested. After binding him, the three of them set off to try and find their way back to the van and hopefully Tenley and Lionel.