Chapter Three
“Blade!!” Free
screeched. He jumped from his bed.
“I’m getting
up…I’m...” he muttered incoherently.
“Blade, get UP
here!” Blade threw on a shirt and
stumbled up the stairs. The fresh
sunlight filtered through the dusty window in the stairwell, blinding him
momentarily.
“What?” he
grumbled when he reached the door to the girls’ bunkroom.
“No, you louse.
Up HERE.” She was still a
flight up. Again he grumbled as he
lumbered up another flight of stairs up to Chapter’s room.
“She’s GONE!” Free cried when he finally entered.
Blade stopped and blinked twice in confusion.
“What…?”
“YOUR SISTER WAS
KIDNAPPED!” she bawled. By this
time, Big Shot had found his way upstairs.
He only caught the last sentence; the rest had been just plain mumbling.
“Huh?
Chapter…was KIDNAPPED?!” Big
Shot sat down furiously on the bed, the old springs sighing under his weight.
“God, Blade.
What if the Jerseys took her? What’re
they gonna do to her? What if they
want ransom? What if…what if-“
“Stop!” Blade shut
her up. He started pacing as Free
sat down with a huff next to Big Shot, who had his head in his hands.
Blade started pacing, mumbling. “Anything
can happen to a sixteen year old girl in the hands of the enemy…”
a new thought struck Free.
“What if some guy
down there gets eyes for her, huh? What
if he…wanted to…”
“NO.” Big Shot
exclaimed, glaring at her. “Nobody’s
gonna touch her, got it? Nobody but
me.” Blade stared at him for a
second before returning to his pacing.
“Well, we gotta go
get her. That’s obvious.
I want Free to come with me. Big
Shot, you take a small group an look here in the Bronx.
Send some other people into Jersey.
We’ve gonna get her back.” He
took Free’s hand and helped her up. Then
he turned to Big Shot.
“If I find her in da
hands of a Jersey…I’m gonna kill him, Blade.
I will! Don’t think I
won’t! I’ll KILL him!”
***
Chapter lifted her
head, yawning. The boy she had met
during the night still slept peacefully next to her. They had talked the
night away, and hadn’t moved from the dock.
Chapter studied him, the golden sunlight illuminating his tanned skin.
She smiled in spite of herself. Just
looking at him made her heart melt.
He slowly opened his
eyes to look up at her, beaming.
“Hello.” He
whispered.
“Hello.” She
whispered back.
“I thought maybe you
would have left…” he said as he rose to sit up. She shook her head.
“I couldn’t
leave.” She looked into his eyes,
his deep brown eyes, and her mind got momentarily lost. He smiled and put his arms around her.
“Good morning,
then.” He murmured. He kissed her
cheek and smirked when he saw her blush. She
hugged him close and put her chin on his shoulder.
“What’s…your
name?” She asked finally. That
hadn’t come up ever in conversation.
“Solo.
And yours?”
“Chapter!!
CHAPTER!!” A guy’s voice
echoed throughout the wharf. Chapter jumped, recognizing Blade.
“Shit.” She
whispered harshly. Blade rounded
the corner and spotted her.
“Chapter!
Thank God! We’ve been
looking for you since the crack of dawn!” Free gushed at the sight of her best
friend. Then she saw Solo.
“Um…” Chapter was still in Solo’s arms. Chapter noticed then and slowly separated from him, standing
up.
When Blade saw Solo,
his eyes grew huge.
When Solo saw Blade,
his eyes grew huge. Chapter stared
at each of them as their glared grew menacing.
“What…are you
doing…with a Jersey, Chapter?” Blade asked quietly. Then it clicked. Chapter
gasped and stared at Solo. She
slowly began to back away.
“You…a Jersey?”
Her head spun. What had she just done?
“What the hell is
going on here??” Free asked furiously.
“You’re not a…a
Bronx…are you? Oh God...”
Solo prayed it wasn’t true. It
could not be true.
“What is
happening?” Free asked, still lost. Blade
stared at her.
“Chapter was
kidnapped by this…this…this Jersey. An
he was holding her an touching her!” He
turned to Solo. “YOU DEMON!” he
screamed. He leapt at him, tackling
him. Chapter screamed.