The events right after pulling the girls to safety passed by Jason in a blur. The police arrived on the scene first and blocked off either side of the street in order to wave away any potential traffic. Not that Jason had seen any other cars even try to turn down this street. The paramedics arrived a minute after the first police cars and immediately descended on the trio. Much to Jason’s relief, Jessica began to stir as the paramedics placed her onto a stretcher. Jason rushed over and calmed down the panicked teen as she regained consciousness. Out of the corner of his eye Jason watched a police officer do a double take at Courtney before whispering something to one of the paramedics. The officer began to approach the still shaken girl sitting on the curb and Jason moved to try and head him off. Jason was stopped by Jessica’s hand snagging his arm. He looked at his childhood friend in the stretcher but she didn’t meet his gaze. There was a nervous insecurity in the way her hand trembled against Jason’s arm. Jessica felt hesitant to have Jason near, but Jason could tell she was far more afraid of being alone right now.

“Can we all ride in the same ambulance?” Jason asked the paramedic who had just been speaking with the nearby officer.

The paramedic glanced towards Courtney and shook his head. “You two are. A second ambulance is almost here and they’ll take your friend with them.”

He seemed to catch the uneasy expression that Jason developed and gave him a reassuring smile. “She’s going to be fine. They’re taking her to the same hospital.”

“Courtney is more injured than I am.” Jason pointed out. “If anything, they should leave first and I can take the second one.”

The paramedic shared a look with the police officer he had been speaking with. The officer gave him a nod and the paramedic sighed.

“The police have reason to believe your friend may have been involved in some… illegal activity recently and want to ask her a few questions once she’s been attended to. Her riding separately is just a precautionary step. I promise.”

Jason scowled and took a step towards Courtney. Once again, he felt Jessica’s grip tighten on his arm.

“Jason.” Courtney called over gently.

He met the bruised and battered girl’s soft gaze. She gave him a tired but genuine smile.

“I’ll be okay. Go with Jessica to the hospital. You both need it.”

Jason wanted to argue further, but after watching the officer’s hand drift down to his hand cuffs Jason decided it wouldn’t be a wise course of action. The paramedics loaded Jessica into the ambulance and helped Jason inside the back where he could sit next to his injured friend. The doors swung closed and the ambulance began to pull away from the scene just as a second one arrived. Courtney gave Jason a small wave goodbye before the ambulance turned down the nearest street. It wasn’t terribly comfortable in the ambulance, but Jason still managed to fall asleep during the short trip to the nearest hospital. He woke up just as the emergency vehicle stopped outside of the main entrance. Jason’s eyes blinked open to find a worried Jessica staring at him intently.

“Hey.” Jason groggily wiped the sleep from his eyes. “Sorry. I drifted off a bit there. It’s been a long couple of days.”

Jessica nodded but the worry didn’t fade from her face.

“You okay?” He asked as the paramedics prepared to lift her out of the ambulance.

“It’s just…” Jessica bit her lower lip. “I didn’t think it would feel like this.”

“What do you-” Jason started to ask but was cut off by the nearest paramedic.

“We’ve got to get you two inside and taken care of, all right? You’ll have all the time in the world to catch up later.”

Jessica nodded and looked away. Jason sheepishly followed the paramedics as they wheeled her away and into the hospital. After being handed off to the hospital staff, Jason and Jessica were escorted to different rooms. The nurses cleaned up his cut up arms while a doctor removed Jason’s shirt and examined the small stab wound in his abdomen. A few questions were asked about its origin, but Jason remained vague about details to hopefully spare Courtney from any blame.

It doesn’t matter what she said. Jason winced from the stinging liquids being used to clean up his dried blood.

He thought back to the car ride he shared with Courtney a few days ago. She had a… troubling upbringing to say the least, but he saw the way she wanted to learn more about Jason’s hobbies. There was innocence and kindness still in her. Hopefully now she will be able to find more of that.

It was extremely apparent to the doctors and nurses taking care of him that Jason was physically exhausted. After they cleaned and bandaged up his wounds, the doctor gave him some medication to help him sleep. Jason weakly protested since he wanted to be available in case his friends needed anything but he was swiftly shut down. Reluctantly, Jason downed the pills and felt them kick in within a few minutes. Without fully being aware of when it happened, Jason lay back into his hospital bed and drifted off to sleep.

Jason didn’t have dreams. Maybe his mind was too exhausted to come up with any entertaining or interesting thoughts to put up on screen. Jason felt adrift in a dark void of calming nothingness. 

“-s-n!”

A distant sound caused Jason to stir.

“J–son!”

There it was again. The cogs in Jason’s mind began to turn as cognitive thought fought back to the surface.

“Th– –eed -o- -as-n!”

He wasn’t quite out of his dream-like state, but Jason’s mind finally identified the sound as a voice calling out for him. He forced himself to focus.

“Get up now!”

Jason sat bolt upright in his hospital bed. His heart pounded in his chest and his eyes flew to every corner of his small room. No one else was there and the door was shut. Being careful not to move too quickly, Jason slid off the side of the bed and stood. His ears burned with a frantic energy as he hoped to hear the voice that roused him once more.

It sounded like…

“Remi?” Jason called.

He waited a few hopeful moments but no one responded to his voice. At some point, the hospital staff had removed his clothes and dressed him in a simple blue hospital gown. Jason was a little nervous about being exposed in the rear but he forced down his fear and opened the door.

The hospital was quiet. Jason could see dark windows in the distance. The lack of natural sunlight indicated he had been asleep for the rest of the day. The hospital was quiet. There were a pair of doctors at the far end of the hallway to Jason’s right. No sooner had he noticed the pair then the doctors had disappeared around a corner and out of sight.

I should check on Jessica and, if possible, Courtney. Jason decided.

He wasn’t sure what had woke him up from his deep sleep. It could have been a voice, but as time wore on Jason became increasingly unsure if he had just imagined it. A few dozen feet down the hallway to his left was a nursing station. Jason could see a single attendant working on paperwork in the dim interior lighting. The station was facing away from Jason so the attendant hadn’t noticed his presence yet. Just as he was about to call out, another nurse rushed up from the opposite side.

“Has the patient in room two twenty one been moved?” The nurse asked frantically.

The nurse at the station paused and picked up a clipboard from the counter in front of her.

“That was the stabbing victim right? No, I don’t see any record of her being moved. Why?”

Jason froze in place. A fierce mixture of fear, relief, and worry rocketed through his system like a lightning bolt.

Could it be?

“I just checked her room and she’s gone.” The frantic nurse pointed away from the station, directly opposite of where Jason stood.

“Show me.” The nurse stepped out of the station and ushered her co-worker forward.

Before they were even out of sight, Jason made his move. He darted into the nursing station and scooped up the patient list that had been left behind.

“Come on, come on.” Jason breathed heavily as his eyes flew down the page.

He found room two twenty one and confirmed what he already suspected.

“Kirsten Stanley.” Jason let out a strange choked laugh as his emotions fought for dominance.

Would she blame him for leaving her behind?

Even more importantly. Jason felt a chill run down his exposed spine. Why is she missing?

It had to be connected. The voice that woke him. Kirsten’s disappearance. It had to mean something. Memories began to surface in Jason’s mind. Hayden’s odd behavior, the notes at least two of the girls received, the mysterious package that contained his father’s hard drive, the deal maker’s refusal to help him in any meaningful way. Someone was behind all of that. 

And if they’re after Kirsten. Jason’s wide eyes return to the page as he searched for a different name. Then that means we’re all still in danger.

He found it. Jessica was in room two fifty one. Jason turned around and sprinted down the hallway he had come from. Despite the rapid pace his feet and his heart set, Jason still felt cold as he ran down the hall. He had been so ready to be done with it all. So ready to start helping those around him start rebuilding their lives that he had ignored all of the signs that screamed that this wasn’t over.

Jason found her door. He didn’t wait or try to listen for any intruders. Instead, Jason grabbed and twisted the handle the moment he made contact. His shoulder struck the hard material with all of the force he could muster. It wasn’t locked or obstructed in any way so Jason’s momentum carried the door straight into the side way, denting the small wall with the handle in the process. Jason stumbled a bit but felt immediately justified when his eyes took in the small hospital room and its occupants. Jessica lay unconscious on the bed with bandages covering her various wounds. Standing above her, with his back turned, was a large man dressed in a dark trench coat. He turned towards Jason. Doing so allowed Jason to see a large needle prepped in his left hand and a gun resting comfortably in the other.

JTNestman

I was recently made aware of my story being posted on Webnovel (for a second time). This time, the culprit went as far as to claim that they were the original owner of the story and that it was being stolen and posted on other sites. I wanted to post this chapter earlier in the week but I was going through the process of dealing with that headache instead.

Also my proofreader/editor is traveling so I didn't have their help on this one. If you notice any oddities please feel free to let me know and I'll try to get them fixed. I will also be busy over the coming week so I probably wont have the chance to write the next portion until later. I'll do what I can, but don't be surprised if it's a bit later than normal.

As always, thank you for reading.