Running from Pete - Jenny's Life - Part 24

Jenny has accepted an invitation to visit with Martika Kelly at her house for some face to face girl talk. All was going very well until Pete Pertovsky showed up, unwilling to abide by a court imposed detention in his home. Now Jenny and Martika fear for their lives at Pertovsky finds out about their secret communications.

Inside the closet, Jenny twisted the bat around so that the larger end was above her head. She knew she would likely have one chance to use this as a weapon, so the effort would have to be her best. She took in a large breath and prepared for the moment she got a good look at Pete Pertovsky.

“Pete, you need to run. If they catch you here they will take you back to jail,” Martika said.

“I need something to use to make sure I can escape. Your bat is the closest thing.” Pete jerked the closet door open, stunned to see the dark brown bat moving toward his head. He jerked left, missing the full force of the bat on his head, receiving most of the blow to his neck and shoulder, which was more than enough to cause him to crumble onto the floor.

Jenny propelled herself from the closet and grabbed Martika’s hand as she hurdled the pile of humanity that was Pete Pertovsky. Martika had been momentarily stunned by seeing Pete in a position other than total dominance for the first time. She still stared with wonder as Jenny screamed instructions at her.

“RUN MARTIKA! RUN!”

The girls scrambled down the hall, wanting to hear the siren louder while hoping there was no sound coming from Martika’s bed room. But, sound there was, an angry scream from a wounded maniacal boy who was recovering from a painful injury, but not a debilitating one.

As they rapidly descended the stairs, Jenny glanced over her shoulder to see Pete exit the bed room with the bat in his right hand. She knew she should have brought it with her, but the look on Martika’s face told her she would need to have her hands free to facilitate their escape.

Pete shouted at them, ordering Martika to stop. Jenny felt the girl begin to comply, obviously so controlled by this boy that she automatically cowered to every instruction he uttered. Jenny pulled hard on her hand and kept moving down the stair case. She wanted to get out of the house and to her car so they could try to escape before Pertovsky caught up to them. Jenny knew he could do so much damage with the bat and she blamed herself for leaving it behind.

Jenny worried when she realized the siren was not getting louder as she hoped. She wondered if what Martika said about difficulty finding the house was correct. What would they do if Pete followed them. Where would she go?

Martika was no longer holding them back, seeming to see there was a need to move faster. Jenny hoped she felt there was some real help here and that she wanted to be saved from whatever Pete intended to do to them. It was important for the success of Jenny’s efforts that Martika wanted to be saved. It could not be solely about what Jenny desired. Martika would have to bear the bulk of the burden in this odyssey.

Where was Martika’s mother or father for that matter? Was it not time for her to catch a break? It was obvious her new friend had suffered so much at the hands of this spoiled rich boy that Jenny wished God himself would just strike him down. She knew God did not work like that, but in the pantheon of cosmic karma she thought some radical retribution to Pete would not be so bad.

Pete continued to scream at Martika, filling the air with cursing and threats, which Jenny knew he would not hesitate to fulfill. They jumped the three concrete steps outside the door as they continued their mad dash toward Jenny’s escape vehicle. Jenny rattled through her small purse, knocking things around as she grabbed the keys.

Martika slammed the car door shut and punched the locking button while Jenny crammed the keys into the ignition and started the engine. Both girl’s eyes were wide with fear as Pertovsky exited the house with the bat raised high and his face a deep red from the anger he felt.

“Hurry, Jenny!” Martika screamed.

Jenny jerked the gear shift into reverse and turned to see what was behind them. She punched the gas and felt the car moving backwards, but then heard a sickening crunch as the car suddenly stopped moving. In the mirror she could see another automobile, a sports utility vehicle behind her with three people inside.

“Mom!” Martika said as she looked out the rear window.

Jenny looked back out the front window just in time to see Pete thrust the bat into the glass. Both girls turned their heads as the sound of the shattering glass filled the cabin of their sedan. Jenny dialed 911 again as she tried to think of how to get out of this predicament.

“I’m sorry Jenny! I am sorry I got you into this,” Martika said through tears.

“We’re going to get out of this,” Jenny said.

“How?” Martika asked.

Jenny could not answer, because she did not know. She turned again to look at the Kelly’s damaged vehicle behind her and saw Martika’s moms eyes full of the same fear she still felt. The woman was screaming and holding a phone to her ear as well, so maybe between her and Jenny they could get help there in time.

Pete drew the bat back again and aimed for Jenny’s window. She turned her head and leaned toward Martika before the bat made contact, avoiding the sharp shards of glass that exploded onto her lap.

“Get out of the car,” Pete said. He tried to reach in to push the locking button, but Jenny punched her fists into his side. She also pressed the gas pedal to see if she could free her car from the Kelly’s to maybe make an exit across their yard. Pete was caught off guard and jerked his arms back as the vehicle lurched forward.

He took the bat back over his shoulder and continued striking the car, this time smashing the back window, which would provide a bigger entry point to get to the girls. Jenny shifted the car in reverse again, intending to back at an angle so that she could get around Martika’s mom, who was too stunned to react.

Pete again was not thinking fast enough to anticipate Jenny’s actions, as the car made contact with him, sending him crashing onto the pavement. He rolled to his right to avoid being run over by the vehicle, pushing with his right hand to try to regain his footing. His temper was fully engaged at this point as he usually never had to exert much energy to get his wishes. He had a burning rage inside him that would only be satisfied with Jenny Drake’s life.

The screeching tires that filled the air next were a sweet sound to all but one of the actors in this horrifying scene. A county deputy launched himself from his police cruiser with a gun drawn, instructing Pete Petrovsky to cease and desist immediately. A bloodied Pete shot him a look of defiance and drew the bat back again to continue his assault toward Jenny’s car window.

This time Martika grabbed Jenny’s arm and pulled her toward the passenger’s side of the car as she opened the door. Pete saw what they were doing and ran for the other side of the car as the deputy shouted a second time for him to stop.

Martika’s mom was screaming in horror as she watched her daughter and new friend trying to fight for their lives. The deputy charged toward the now open passenger door with his weapon drawn, but saw a situation quickly deteriorating into a life threatening experience. He slowed long enough to aim his firearm at Pete, who as rounding the front of the vehicle and fired a shot toward his left leg.

Pete’s face held a look of disbelief, first at the sound of the gun firing, then the strange burning in his leg, followed by the searing pain as the slug tore through his flesh. He screamed in response, grabbing the air as his attempt to catch himself on some part of the car failed. Jenny and Martika ran away, not convinced even a bullet would slow his assault.

The deputy kept the weapon in his hands trained on Pete, knowing the wound he inflicted was not fatal, but wanting it to be immobilizing enough that he could apply handcuffs. From fifty feet away, the girls stopped and watched as the deputy rolled Pete onto his stomach and did put handcuffs on the boy, finally providing them with the confidence they were safe; at least for now.

The Kelly’s property was filled with law enforcement cruisers within a short period, along with an ambulance called to attend to Pete’s leg wound. Jenny and Martika supplied statements to the officers on the scene, but were told they would need to make themselves available for more interviews later.

Jenny wished Hal Brown was there so she could play the recording of Pete she made for him. In truth, the eye witness statements of her, Martika, Martika’s mom and brothers along with the deputy would likely be more than enough to corroborate her accusation, but she knew the audio of Pete actually making the threat would make it all stick.

She turned to see her dad’s car com to a stop. Tom exited the vehicle and ran to where Jenny and Martika sat on a rock wall at the front curb of Martika’s lawn.

“Jenny!” he said as he reached her. She stood and hugged him tight, feeling the tears flow from her eyes. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, dad. I am fine now.”

“Bernice called as soon as Hal let her know. What is going on?”

Jenny gave her dad a two paragraph introduction to Martika and her situation. Tom looked at the police cruiser Pete sat in and realized all the connections to Bobby's situation and the possibility of harm that could have come to his daughter.

“What were you thinking?” he said in a loud voice. Jenny knew the stress of her mom and Bobby’s experience were making his response here more harsh than normal.

“I was trying to help my friend,” Jenny said grabbing Martika’s hand.

“By getting yourself killed?”

“I am fine dad.”

“Yeah, this time,” Tom replied. His face was full of stubble, which was expected from someone who had not stopped to attend to the daily needs of personal hygiene. Jenny could see his tired eyes were full of fear as he contemplated the same thought Jenny did about losing his entire family.

“What about mom?” Jenny asked.

“Obviously I am not looking for her,” Tom Drake said to her. “Honey, I can’t deal with you going wild right now. I need you to be the one who does what is expected.”

“Dad, this boy was going to hurt her again,” Jenny told him.

“Or you,” Tom replied.

“But he didn’t,” Jenny said.

“Only by the grace of God,” Tom said.

“Mr. Drake?” Martika’s mom asked as she approached the group from their left.

“Yes?”

“I am Shannen Kelly, Martika’s mom. I must tell you how great it is that your daughter has become Martika’s friend. Martika has suffered so much and it is so great to see her smile again. Your daughter has been so good to her.”

“I am glad that you have benefitted from my daughter’s kindness, but I don’t want her getting hurt in all of this,” Tom said.

Jenny grabbed her phone as she thought about her mother’s promise to call again. She turned up the volume and looked at the display to see two missed calls. One was from Jake, the other from her mother’s phone. Jenny shook her head as she hit the send button to call her mother.

“Who are you calling?” her dad asked.

“Mom!” Jenny told him.

The phone rang several times, with each ring chipping away at Jenny’s confidence she could talk to her mother again. In her current state Kyla might not answer the phone for fear of being found by the people she felt were trying to capture her.

“I can’t talk,” Jenny heard as the line connected.”Meet me at the house in ten minutes.”

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