The funeral droned on, as Jane's heart sunk deeper along with the lowered coffin.
Her siblings and mother cried their hearts away and even Denise attempted to jump into the grave if not for a few people that held her back.
Jane watched quietly, tears streaming down her face as she felt a shift in her disposition. This is the last time she feels normal, the last time she spends time with them.
For once she saw them for who they were, their ugliness exposed for her to see.
Her red hair was tied in a messy attempt of a messy bun, if there was an irony bigger than that and the black gown she wore was a bit too big for her frame but she is Jane.
As the reverend father said the last prayers, an onslaught of gunshots rang in the quiet graveyard, sending everyone in a frenzy.
Jane herself ducked and ran blindly, leaving her family to fend for themselves or was it the opposite?
Jessica was way ahead of her with her last child, her feet pumping speedily and Douglas was right behind her, leaving their other two children to fend for themselves. Olly being the good big brother that he is picked his sister up and made a run for it and as for Denise, it is safe to say that the woman must have been a sprinter in her past life.
Jane looked around and saw men on black suits throwing punches and dangerous weapons at each other, infact, these men were killing each other.
A stinging pain attacked her left calf, sending her down as she let out a piercing scream. A bullet had been lodged into her leg and it burned hotter than the many hot pots she had unwittingly carried with her bare hands.
The fight was getting fiercer, bullets being released to no particular target and her survival instincts kicked in.
She grabbed a foot that came too close to her and latched on, even when the owner tried to shake her off.
The man grunted and using his other leg, he sent a wicked kick to a man that was coming for him with a knife.
"Let go", he tried to shake her off again but she shook her head, her grip tightening the more.
"No! Please! I've been hurt, I cannot stand", she rushed out.
The man bent down and grabbed her by the neckline of her gown, choking her for a minute and she released his leg and clawed at her neck.
He dragged her up and released her dress but Jane toppled over.
He caught her before she hit the ground and grunted when someone hit his face.
"Fucking hell", he muttered and shot his assaulter dead.
"What is going on?!", Jane rushed out again.
"Let's get you out of here", the man answered instead and picked her up.
While the man's legs ran at full speed, people flanked him and held off any assaults coming for him, Jane was beginning to lose consciousness.
"Where are you taking me?", she slurred.
"I don't have the time to get to know your house so you're coming with me", he grunted.
"I cannot follow you home. Take me to a hospital", she weakly shook her head at him.
"I can't take you there. You'll be fine where I'm taking you. Can you stop talking now?", he asked her but Jane was already slipping int unconsciousness.
He got to a car and placed Jane in the backseat, jumped into the driver's side and sped off, with other cars following him closely and the sound of gunshots, long forgotten.
~
Jane woke up, her eyes squinting at the bright light that came in through the open curtains.
Her eyes took in the unfamiliar room and she jerked up, a very wrong move because the minute she strained her calf, a stinging sensation brought a pained scream from her lips.
The door opened, revealing the man from the graveyard.
Clad in an all black attire that hugged his lean, athletic build, he took two strides and he was standing before the bed Jane lay on.
"I leave you for two minutes and you are already trying to bleed yourself to death", he grumbled and grabbed her leg.
Jane tried to pull her leg from his very strong grip but instead her leg gets pulled on, making her wince in pain.
"Who are you?", she asked him when he started removing her bloodied bandage.
He ignored her and changed her bandage while she squirmed around.
"Try not to strain it again. Someone will bring in some things that you might need while you're here"
Jane started feeling drowsy but she fought to stay awake.
"What did you give me?", she panicked and the man cast her a quick glance.
"Anesthetics. It should wear off when you wake up", he answered her and placed her leg back on the bed after he was done changing her bandage.
He packed the soiled ones into a tray that sat on a table close to the bed, the same table where he took a clean bandage from.
"Where am I?", Jane slurred.
The man sighed and walked out of the room, leaving her to fall back asleep.
He would try to answer her questions when she woke up but for now, he had a lot to do.