J U M P E R

C H A P T E R | T W O

Kieran sat in silence while the guys talked. About what she had no clue. She was stuck in her thoughts, trying to figure out what could've happened. The radio played quietly in the background. It was some song she didn't know by an artist she'd never heard of. Her shoulders tensed slightly when she caught the boy next to her staring out of the corner of her eye.

He'd done that quite a bit since they'd picked her up, though she thought he'd stopped roughly half an hour ago.

She shifted around in her seat. They'd been driving for nearly three hours and she was getting uncomfortable.

"How close is the nearest town?" She asked.  The three guys shared a look. They were silent for a couple beats before the driver answered.

"Not far."

She wanted a better answer, but she got the feeling there was something wrong with these three. They kept looking to each other, having some sort of mental conversation. She turned to the window again. She was still very confused. She didn't know where she was, how she got there, or why she was left alone on the side of the road.

She could remember the bus. Her splitting headache, the sudden nausea. Falling forward. But after that, nothing.

After another hour of driving and a short nap, Kieran noticed the sun had set. The world was slowly darkening as the night crept in. The air grew colder. She thought they'd have made it to a town by now.

Suddenly, and for a reason unknown to her, the driver pulled over. He cut the engine and got out, letting his friend in the back out as well.

"Out," The driver demanded.

The passenger door had been opened and the seat pulled forward. A nervous chill ran down her spine.

Slowly she got out of the truck. She was immediately grabbed, and despite her protests, they began to drag her into the woods. She was pulled into the driver's chest once they'd walked far enough into the treeline that she'd lost sight of the road. The other two pressed themselves against her; one on her side, the other directly behind her, effectively trapping her between them. Their bodies were hot as a furnace and the combined heat made her sweat lightly.

The ones behind and on the side dove at her neck. It was quick and aggressive, each claiming a side. She tried to move away. The driver grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. Then he kissed her. Hard.

Their hands were everywhere. She started to panic. They held her tight, locked between their hands. Her mind was racing but one thought rang louder than the rest.

I'm going to be raped.

Her breathing picked up as her panic grew. Someone's hand groped her chest. It jolted her into action, and she lashed out. Her knee came forward to connect with the driver's groin. She elbowed the one in the throat as she threw her head back to smash the nose of the guy behind her. They all let go of her. The driver was on the ground, the passenger gripping his bloody nose, and the third was hunched over his knees, trying to breathe.

She didn't waste any time. They'd moved away from her now, groaning as they waited for the pain to pass. She bolted.

She could hear the guys groaning and cursing, but she didn't look back. They would come after her, she knew. They didn't seem like the type to give up on a chase.

She felt bile rise in her throat as the distinct sound of bones snapping echoed behind her.

What the hell is going on?

She chanced a quick glance at the spot the three boys should have been. Key word: should. Three impossibly large wolves occupied the space instead. Her breath left her lungs as she made eye contact with one. Another howled loudly into the growing darkness, freezing her blood in her veins.