Chapter 64 A Glimpse from the Past
My heart is beating so fast and I couldn't control the pressure that is building inside my head. If the person that is coming toward us is one of the gangsters that Jayson feared, I have to take him down as fast as I could before he could even call for the other four and let him reveal our hiding spot. But that would be impossible, I guess. Because if one of them had already woken to come in this side of the building, I might have already heard loud gunshots from Jayson and the others inside the building.
So I gathered some courage in me and pointed down my gun, having faith that it was Jayson and the other two. The rustling became too audible that the tension in me starts bringing up the anxiety again and when I saw figures appearing from the other side of the wall, I quickly drew up my gun and pointed it at the newcomer, only to be surprised to see Jayson's alert face, his hands both held up in the air, smirking at me which made me exhale in ragged nervousness, my breath puffed out white smoke from the cold air.
"Let's go quick!" Jayson hissed at Li and Timothy who are both holding pans and other stuff we brought to the building and used for cooking dinner. The two moved swiftly, opening the back of the car and putting down the things carefully, trying to not make a sound. Jayson must have told the two about the situation though, and the fear I see in their eyes is enough to make them both aware that the men in that building are people who are sent to find Jayson to kill him.
After putting down the things and securing the back of the car, the two huddled with the girls in the middle seat of the car, and I and Jayson quickly moved to their driver and passenger seat.
He's looking a little hopeful and there's a nervous grin on his face that makes me wonder what happened to them while they're escaping from the building. Jayson started the car and it roared in the dead silence of the night. He's smart not to light up the headlights as he maneuvered towards the highway, and away from the hellish place where gangster assassins are snoring peacefully, not knowing that their target was just at the same building with them and that it had already gotten away.
"Man, that was nerve-wracking. I even stopped breathing while we were walking out of that lobby. I thought one of them had already woken up and it's a bit of mere luck that they had never felt our presence in that place." Timothy sighed as he leaned his head against the headboard of his seat, feeling so much relieved from the idea that we had escaped another terrifying situation.
"Yeah... I guess we will pass as ninjas after all," Jayson laughed, his eyes on the road and his hands are both on the steering wheel, the amazement is also obvious on his face that I couldn't help but smile and feel happy for him. "I'm sorry I put all your lives in danger because of my past," he apologized.
Ronnie's eyebrows moved into a straight line, leaning her head again between me and Jayson's seat. "Past?" She asks, looking eagerly curious.
"He's a mafia assassin," Li answered Roanie's question while propping his head with his hand, still half asleep and a little drunk. His chinky eyes appeared like just lines on his face despite him trying to make a clear view of the place outside the car's window.
"No way! Is that true?!" Roanie exclaimed in an impressed tone and Li replied, "I know right."
"Former... you forgot the word former," Jayson commented on Li and he grinned once again, enjoying the moment that we all escaped from the hands of death once more. "I'm glad Li became a serious person when he's drunk. I never expected him to be so careful at that moment. It was a death-defying experience though, having both of them in such a delicate time."
"Are you saying we're kind of a burden to you?" Timothy raised his one eyebrow at Jayson's words and the smile on my face faded, as well as Jayson's.
"No. I don't mean it that way, though. I mean you both have no idea what was going on and I'm thankful you had trusted me even though I didn't tell you the full details. It's terrifying to know that those men are after me now. I am not sure if we'll be safe if we stay in that building while they are still there, though. There's a tendency that they'll get curious about what is on the second floor and there is no chance for us to escape anymore once they know there are more people staying there besides them. They'll all kill us without any warning," Jayson explained and all of us went silent for minutes.
"It's alright, Jayson. You've been protecting us so well for almost two months now. And we're thankful that you're in this team."
"It's nothing, Harriet. I'm just happy to stay with all of you. The first time I came to this place, I thought I was so lost. I mean... not lost like, in a directional way. What I mean about loss is... I don't know how I'll exactly start in this foreign land where I don't know anybody. I was scared I'll lose purpose in life when I'm just starting a new one."
I glance at Jayson and he glances back at me, smiling and then he looks back at the road. All of us didn't say anything anymore and just enjoy the silence as the cold night got deeper. I volunteered to take the wheel from Jayson because I could see his eyes are already looking dark from his lack of sleep so before he'll get us into a wild crash somewhere, I took the opportunity to drive the car so he could at least get some sleep.
I am not a pro when it comes to driving a car though but dad taught me some lessons and I used to drive his truck to school. I suddenly miss the feeling of that old life we had even if it was simple. I would trade anything just to make things the way it was before this apocalypse happened.
But then that means I will never have the chance to know all these amazing people sleeping inside the car while I drive them to safety. I will never know the experiences we had been through since we met each other in that airport, the struggles we all faced together, and the journey that made each of us faithful and our bond became stronger.
Maybe all of this happened to me because fate had brought all these people into my life to give me more lessons that I will forever cherish while I'm breathing.
I couldn't help but smile while driving along the empty highway, the full moon shedding its silver light that lights the way enough for me to not use the headlights because it may attract something hostile along the road.
We have to reach the border as soon as we can ...