Chapter 8

A Chapter by Jesse Jacques

As Josh ran at the two officers, all he could think was: I am so dead. But, he ran at them anyways, ramming the first officer with the butt of his own gun. Then he turned on his heel and spun his fist toward the second officer's face.

" Nice try, sonny, " the officer chuckled as he caught Josh's fist and twisted his hand until he cried out. He then spun Josh around until his hand was behind his back and he took Josh's other hand and slapped some handcuffs on him.

Next thing Josh knew, the officer slammed the butt of his gun into Josh's head, knocking him unconscious on the asphalt.

"Josh...Josh, wake up. Josh!" Gail worried whisper soon turned into a near-shout as she attempted to get him to wake up. She reached for the newly aquired handcuff key and freed Josh's hands. Then she flipped his body over and sighed in relief as he moaned and put a hand to his head.

"What the heck happened?" Josh asked Gail as he took in his surroundings. Both officers were on the ground, the officer that had called him "sonny" had a thin stream of blood coming down his forehead.

"I had to do something. Besides, it was more for me than for you. Hey, wipe that smirk off of your face! They kept smacking me and shoving me and stuff, so..." Gail explained, as she stood up and brushed off her dress.

"Thanks. Where were they taking you anyways?" Josh sat up and slowly stood as he felt his head start to throb right where the "sonny" officer had hit him with the butt of his gun. And he watched Gail as she turned her head uncomfortably and started to fiddle with her fingers.

"Wellll...i sorta ran away from Sargent Haw- I mean my husband. Anyways, he wasn't too happy about it and he sent guards after me...so they could bring me back," Gail said as her voice started to wobble, "Josh, I don't want to marry him. All the horrible things he does to people...I just couldn't live with that hanging over my head every single day..." She trailed off as tears started to roll over her ivory cheeks. Her hands covered her face as she started to tremble and she sank to her knees.

Josh pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. Then he placed his chin on top of her head and held her close. They fit together perfectly, just like before when they had gone out and been boyfriend and girlfriend. But, things were different now: Josh was probably going to be hunted down and killed and Gail was going to be married to Sargent Hawk.

Suddenly, he thought of an idea. What if we could escape? The thought crowded his brain completely until he finally couldn't hold it in any longer.

"I think we should run away. Tonight." Josh blurted as he untangled the now-quiet Gail from his arms. He held her away from him at arm's length and looked at her bright blue eyes.

"You mean just leave this place? Where the heck would we go? When would we go?" Gail blurted as the thoughts ran through her head. What if we did run away? Then what would happen?

"We would have to run away tonight. Go to Sargent Hawk and pretend like you were just out shopping or something. You'd probably be able to slip out. At twelve forty-five, I want you to meet me near our old houses. Make sure no one sees you go near there. Alright? I have to go now before the guards wake up. And you should go before they wake up, too." Josh said all of this quickly and as soon as he finished, he placed a gentle kiss on Gail's rosy lips and dashed off down the street, heading left before Gail could no longer see him.