Chapter 30 - Jack Attack

Jack heard voices in the cab of the van. The front cab was sealed off from the compartment he was in, but he could tell it was another argument. The sounds of accusation and defense escalated into a heated exchange none of which he could make out except for the final agreement between the two unknown kidnappers.
“Fine” said one.
“Fine” said the other.
With his fate unknown to him, yet decided on by his captors, Jack heard two doors open and slam shut. He must be in a secluded spot he thought as he reasoned that the argument and slamming of doors would have attracted some attention in a more densely populated area.
Jack knew he had to try something to get out of his current situation. He did not want to stick around and passively await the final outcome. He moved silently and scooted his body closer to the rear doors of the van. Lying on his back, he raised his legs to a position above his waist and reminded himself that he would get one chance. His feet and hands were still bound together, but he was able to brace himself with his palms underneath his lower back, placed flat to the floor of the van.
In the darkness, he heard two sets of feet crunch the gravel toward the rear of the van. Jack took a deep breath and prepared himself for the imminent blast of cold outside air. A set of keys clinked as they were brought to unlock the rear doors. Jack heard a final word from his captors as they too readied themselves for their next act. As soon as he heard the click of the door latch and caught his first sight of a lighter shade of darkness, Jack drove his legs with all his determination into the center of the opening rear doors. His feet were stinging with cold and pain, but he could tell that he hit at least one body when the doors flew open unexpectedly on his would-be assailants.
Jack raised his legs again and paused. He listened for any noise. He heard a faint moaning, but nothing else. He waited for another minute and cautiously pushed open the van doors with his feet. The cold air was intense and he had little to shield him from the weather. He scooted himself to the edge of the van’s rear and sat upright to survey the scene. What he saw shocked him.
To Jack’s left was a petite blonde female with what looked like a white ski outfit on lay sprawled out on her back with blood trickling from her nose. She was definitely out cold. On Jack’s right was a larger male who was moaning and grasping for his head where blood was oozing out of a fresh gash courtesy of Jack’s van door karate kick.
Jack quickly hopped up and out on to the sharp gravel where his feet continued to tell him that it was cold and painful right now. He ignored his feet and shuffled to where the man lay grimacing in pain. Jack raised his hands and stiffened his elbow and aimed it directly at the bridge of the man’s nose. He positioned himself so that he could throw himself down on the man and strike with the only mobility he had.
Jack crouched slightly and leaped up in the air and directed his elbow at the man’s nose and his hip at the man’s belly as he performed his first ever full-body slam. Granted, he would have preferred the comfort and safety of a wrestling mat for his first time as opposed to a life or death situation on a gravel road, the result was disgusting. Blood spurted out from the man’s nose and face as he gurgled once in pain and then passed out. Jack saw that the rear bumper of the van was metal and had an edge. He rolled off of the man’s now limp body and moved his feet toward the metal bumper. Jack started working his feet back and forth across the bottom edge of the bumper as he tried to cut through the rope. It wasn’t working like he had hoped and after several minutes, he noticed that he had not made much progress. Only a few strands had loosened themselves after all of his effort. The winter air stung his face and body, the gravel dug into his side as he lay next to the van. He looked around and saw nothing but dense forest and the gravel road. Determined not to die or wait until his kidnappers regained consciousness, he focused his attention back to his freezing feet. This time instead of using the edge of the bumper, he used the bumper’s metal corner that was folded back along the side of the van. He pulled his feet over the metal corner so that it caught the rope and he pulled. A few more strands were cut. He continued using the van’s metal tooth until his feet were numb with and drained of blood as they were slightly above his body for the better part of an hour. He finally cut through the rope and freed his feet. Jack’s sense of relief was enough to keep him going. He got up and lowered his hands, then stepped backward over them so that they were now in front of him, but still bound. Jack went over the the man’s body and took his jacket and put it on, then removed the man’s boots and socks. He put them on and felt the warmth.
Jack saw the keys still in the van’s rear door and grabbed them. He closed the van’s doors and got in the front cab. He then started the van and drove off, not believing what he had just done. The kidnappers would probably be ok, but fuck them he thought. He drove for a little while not knowing where he was going, but glad to get away from danger. He pulled over on the side of the seemingly endless gravel road and put the van in neutral. He had to get the rope off of his hands. Jack started to rummage around the interior of the front cab looking for a knife, or a pair of scissors or something with a sharp edge. He saw a toolbox on the passenger side floorboard and opened it. Inside was a precise looking set of stainless steel surgical tools. Shuddering at the thought of what his two assailants would have done to him, he seized the tool with the longest blade and released his hands.