by Lisa B
Chapter 118
"Jerry what are you doing?" Isabella shook the back of his seat trying to get his attention. "You're driving towards them. Are you out of your mind?" Her eyes gleamed with unadulterated fear.
"We can't outrun them. This junk heap has a ½ tank of gas. Just think of this as the O. K. Corral." He smiled cavalierly in her direction. "We won't win anything by running."
Isabella buried her face in her hands; afraid to watch has the cars raced towards each other. Just when she thought they had gotten away, they were sucked back into the trap. Remi's diabolical machinations were mind boggling. She wondered how he knew they would get away. Or had he pushed them to this point. Was the escape as much a part of his plan as hi-jacking her and dragging her to Syria? It all seemed so pointless. In the end, he would win.
Jerry pressed down on the gas pedal until the speedometer pegged. He watched as the needle ricocheted at the extreme. Driving blindly through the clouds of sand, he wondered how life had gotten this complicated. He thought of his mother. He pictured Lady Jane standing in the back door throwing out a burnt batch of chocolate chip cookies and crabbing at him for shutting off the timer. Then she'd swatted him out of the kitchen with a broom and went about the tedious task of cleaning up the mess. His mother was so strong in many ways he sometimes forgot she was a mother.
She would never forgive him for Jax. More likely she would never get over Jax. Emily Thompson understood what it meant to bury your own….to out live the life you brought into the world full of promise. His foot gently eased off the gas pedal. Emily Thompson, that was how Mum would feel. Better to lose a limb than her child. Closing his eyes, he heard the scream and agonized as Emily shook….her pain so profound there were no words. Alone she had said good-bye to a daughter she loved the moment she'd learned of her existence. Did Lady Jane get to say good-bye or had Jax simply ceased to exist?
Yet, Jax would always exist. He existed in the hearts of many. When the wind whispered in the trees, Jerry would hear his name. How foolish to believe that life was forever and that there would always be enough time. There was never enough time if you let life pass you by. Tomorrow or the next day…how many times had Jerry said those words, planned his life around some distance point. His life had become a series of tomorrows. Each day faded into the next until so much time had past he forgot what he was planning.
"J-E-R-R-Y!" Isabella's screams pierced through tangle of his thoughts.
He focused in time to see the outline of a vehicle the instant before the two collided.
***************************************************************
The sun baked the bodies littering the desert floor. A hand inched forward slowly. First one finger unfurled and then the next. It was the first signs of life in the tangled carnage of steel. A wail, soft and low, was the second sign of life in the wreckage.
Jerry awoke with a burning. His head bobbed on his shoulders like one of those plastic puppies he used to see in car windows. Trying to focus on his surroundings was impossible. Reality and memory had bonded in an unholy union. For some reason, all he could remember was his mother throwing out burnt chocolate chip cookies. The charred, acrid smell of the cookies enveloped him. He felt so strange.
"Mum?" the lost boy called for his mother….his lady love…Lady Jane. "Mum….Mum….I…I…don't feel very good." The horse whisper barely heard even by himself. Lady Jane always knew what to do when he didn't feel good. He had the best mother in the entire world. He wondered if he remembered to tell her he loved her before he went to play on the beach.
Mum was so busy lately with the baby. The baby….Jax….Jax…..he should be remembering something but he didn't know what it was. Mum kept telling him Jasper would be able to do stuff when he got a little older. Jerry wanted him to get older right away. He wanted to take him down to the beach and show him how to find shells in the sand. Mum said he'd be older before I knew it. It just seemed to be taking forever.
Jasper….It was such a big name for such a small baby. I didn't tell Mum that it was a silly name. She seemed so happy with the baby, Jasper. The light danced in her eyes whenever she talked about him.
"Mum, I don't feel well." He called for her again. Jerry didn't understand why his mother wasn't coming. She always took care of him even when Jasper…Jax…yes Jax was much better…that was a cool name for his brother….needed her so much of the time. As much as he hated to admit it, he rather liked Jax too. Jax giggled at him the other day. It came out of nowhere and was such a magical sound. Mum kept saying children were miracles…that they were miracles. Jerry didn't feel like a miracle. He was hot and tired of the beach and he didn't feel well and he wanted his mother. Why wasn't she coming?
The burning sensation traveled down his side. Opening his eyes, again he tried to focus. Finally, she was coming. She was just beyond at the next sand dune. Mum would know what to do when she found him. Mum always knew what to do.
Jerry closed his eyes to rest.
*****************************
Isabella tried to free her leg from under the seat. She couldn't move. Throwing her head back in frustration, she felt the tears well up in her eyes. It was probably better to rest and save her strength. The moment had come to take stock of her situation. Both of her arms were bruised but had a good range of motion. A wall of metal encased her from above. She could feel the back of Jerry's seat. She tried to get his attention by pushing on the back of the seat. If she was going to get out of here, she needed his help.
She said a prayer to the Virgin Mary before calling out to him. She'd go insane if she were the only one alive.
"Jerry?" Her words were tentative. "Jerry?" Silence filled the air around her. Louder she screamed. "Jerry?" Hysteria settled into her voice and again she struggled to free her leg.
"I'm over here Mum." Jerry lifted a hand and waved. Why was she calling him? He wanted her to come and get him.
"J-E-R-R-Y!" Isabella screamed at the top of her lungs as she tried to muscle her shoulder against the seat.
She waited but Jerry didn't answer. Isabella sunk back against
the seat defeated. So it had come to this.
Remi had won after all.
****************************************
The man shook his head trying to get his bearings. He looked over and saw his friend slumped against the steering wheel. He reached out and felt a pulse. Slowly, cautiously, he pried himself from the vehicle and surveyed the damage.
They had hit another car. He made his way to the driver's side. Using brute strength, he pulled open the door and examined his friend's position. Gently, he tried to rouse him.
The other man began to move. "Ouch….I think my arm is broken."
"Which one?"
"The right. Let me try moving my feet."
The man waited.
"Every thing else seems fine. I can get out though. See if you can reach the lever and move the seat."
The man struggled with the lever for what seemed an eternity before felt the seat slide backwards. He grabbed his friend by the waist and helped free him.
They looked at what was in front of them. It was a jumbled mass of steel. The passenger had been lost in the collision. They looked at each other and took a deep breath before searching for survivors.
***************************************
"Jerry, Jerry…"
Jerry tried to focus on the voice calling his name. It sounded so familiar. It sounded like Jax. Jax, it couldn't be. Jax was dead. Jerry played with fire and Jax got burned. How would he ever explain this to Mum…or did she already know?
"Jerry, Jerry…"
Again he heard the voice calling to him.
Jerry heard the whirl of propeller blades in the distance. Funny, this was the first time he'd heard a chopper near the beach. All of the air strips were in-land. Jerry wondered what was going on.
The whirl of the propellers increased and then died. The noise replaced with the buzz of metal on metal. Suddenly, he felt free but free from what. He couldn't remember.
Two hands circled his waist and dragged him across the sand.
Jerry felt more hands on his feet and then the feel of rough canvas against his neck. He seemed to float. He was forgetting something. Think, think…it was something important. Then he remembered.
"I-S-A-B-E-L-L-A!" His scream started the pilot.
Running feet against the sand, Jerry heard them. Again the voice, he knew the voice.
"We're getting her now. I'll be back in minute. Just relax Jer…everything is under control."
****************************
Eduardo petted his sister's head with his good hand. He murmured stories of old in the soothing tones of their mother tongue. Isabella closed her eyes in peace. Finally, the nightmare was over. She'd have to ask Eduardo how he found her. It was so unlike him to visit the desert.
*******************************
The helicopter lifted above the desert floor leaving a swirl of dust in its wake.
"The winds are picking up sir. Make sure everyone is strapped down."
Jax nodded his head and went back to check on his brother and Isabella.
"How are they?" He asked Eduardo.
"Resting. Doctor says Isabella has a broken leg and some cracked ribs. Jerry seems to be in one piece but he took a nasty hit to the head. All in all not to bad considering."
"Mmmmm….you're not kidding. Emily is calling Brenda and my folks. I figure we'll be able to leave in a couple of days. Do you think there will be an inquiry?"
Eduardo rested against his sister's cot. "Hard to tell…once these two are a little more lucid, we'll be able to piece together what happened. I'll make some phone calls. I know a few people who can probably help."
"You're right. Let's deal with it later. Right now I could use a stiff drink."
Eduardo laughed. "Funny, you should mention that." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver flask. He unscrewed the lid and took a swig. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he passed it to his friend.
Jax took a long drink. He wondered if this was the end or just the beginning of a new day in hell. He decided not to think about it.