| Hidden Within Chapter 2 |
| Author’s Note: This is for entertainment purposes only. The characters in this story belong to ABC TV and “General Hospital”. ************************************************************************************************************* Skye was slow-dancing with a man. Her partner’s face was covered by a mask, but his grip was tight on both her hand and her waist as they floated around the room. Other faceless people watched the handsome couple, obviously matching each other’s rhythms well in their dancing. As the music ended, Skye’s partner twirled her around so that she was facing the crowd. They both bowed gracefully to the scattered applause. Skye then turned expectantly to her partner, smiling as he started to take off his mask. Her smile vanished as her partner was revealed to be Sonny Corinthos. His cold smile sent shivers down Skye’s spine. He cleared his throat and gestured to the others milling about. “They all know what you are,” he sneered. “You’re nothing but a worthless tramp.” Skye pried her hand from Sonny’s tight grip, then turned and began to push her way through the throngs of people. The further into the crowd she moved, the more difficult it became to see in which direction she should advance. “Jax?” she called out, standing on her tiptoes in an attempt to see over others’ heads. She glanced back and noticed in alarm that Sonny was following her, a menacing look on his face. Frantically, Skye began pushing people out of the way as she attempted to find an exit. She grew perplexed as she started to notice some familiar faces surrounding her – Alan, looking at her with disappointment; Monica, glaring at her with hostility; Edward, gazing at her with disdain; Ned, sneering at her obnoxiously; and AJ, staring at her grimly. Skye grabbed AJ’s arm. “AJ, help me! I can’t find Jax, and Sonny is after me!” She gestured behind her to point out Sonny but noticed that he had mysteriously disappeared. AJ shook his sister’s hand off of his arm. “Skye, stop lying. And don’t ask me for help – we’re not a team anymore.” AJ’s eyes glinted with hurt and anger. “Go get someone else to help you find your white knight.” AJ turned and started to walk away. It was then that Skye noticed Sonny standing near them both. She watched as Sonny slowly pulled a gun out from under his topcoat, then aimed it in AJ’s direction. “AJ!” Skye screamed over and over in warning, but her voice was drowned out by claps of thunder. “Where’s Jax, he’ll help me,” Skye told herself, trying to remain calm and in control. Looking back at Sonny, Skye breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Jax approaching Sonny from behind. She had faith that Jax would come to her aid. Her relief soon changed to newfound panic as Sonny suddenly whirled around and pointed the gun straight at Jax. “I’ve got you now, Candyboy,” he snickered, then pulled the trigger. “No!” Skye shrieked. “Jax! JAX!” ************************************************************************************************************* Skye sat bolt upright, drenched in sweat. Slowly, she became aware of her surroundings. “Oh, thank God,” she murmured, letting out a deep breath. “It was just a dream.” Still feeling a bit shaky, Skye took her time standing up. “Jax?” she called out, but didn’t receive any response. Frowning, Skye looked at the clock and noticed that it had been over an hour since Jax had left her with AJ. A feeling of uneasiness began to grow in the pit of her stomach. “Jax, where are you?” she whispered, wide-eyed, images of his lifeless body still vivid in her mind from her dream. *********************************************************************************************************** A million thoughts flew through AJ’s head as he continued to stare down into Jax’ face. “Oh, man!” he kept muttering, over and over. “Um, okay… check for a pulse.” He bent down and felt Jax’ neck, then breathed a sigh of relief at the feel of a steady but weak pulse beating against his fingers. “Okay, now what?” AJ sat back and considered his options. He knew that if he stayed there, the police would arrest him - he’d been taking swigs out of a flask as he was driving after leaving Skye. “Stupid,” he muttered, disgusted with himself. He knew that Skye would never forgive him if anything happened to Jax if she considered it to be AJ’s fault. No, he had to make this look like someone else’s doing. He nodded to himself as a plan formed in his head. Now all he had to do was put it into action. ************************************************************************************************************* Carly Corinthos gripped the wheel of her new car tightly with both hands. This was the worst weather yet that she had driven in, and it made her extremely nervous. “Why did you want to meet now, of all times?” she grumbled aloud, then jumped as a bolt of lighting split the sky in front of her. She had been puzzled by the message from Leticia, saying that Jax had been trying to track her down because he needed to meet with her immediately. She was even more puzzled as to why he would want to meet her at his lake house – she hadn’t been there since Angel had left town, and she wasn’t in any hurry to return to that place. “This had better be good, Jax,” she muttered, scowling. Lightning again illuminated the sky, momentarily blinding Carly. It all happened so quickly – there was a loud thud as the wheel jerked out from under her hands, then the screeching of her brakes as she punched the brake petal to the floor of the car, then silence. Carly sat, stunned, as the car sat idle. Looking in her rearview mirror, she screamed at the sight of a body in the middle of the road. “What have I done?” she screamed in horror. ************************************************************************************************************ AJ watched the scene unfold from behind some bushes. He was certain that Carly wouldn’t run over Jax since she would be approaching the house from the opposite direction from which AJ had come. Then, he arranged for Carly to run over a log that he had placed in the road before she reached Jax’ body. He had to time the placing of everything perfectly so that Carly’s car would be beyond Jax by the time it came to a stop. And it had worked. Had the situation not been so grim, AJ would’ve been smiling gleefully. He watched as his former wife jumped out of her car and ran over to the body. He surprised himself when he grimaced upon hearing Carly’s scream of horror when she realized who she had supposedly run over. One more thing left to do, then AJ’s work was finished. He dialed 9-1-1 and, disguising his voice as best he could, quickly told the operator the location of the accident, claiming to be a nearby resident. As he hung up his cell phone, AJ glanced in regret back toward the house he had recently left, thinking of Skye inside and all alone. Shaking his head, AJ’s focus went back to the plan. He hurried down the road to his car, hidden in a thicket, and quickly drove back to the Quartermaine estate. As he pulled into the driveway, he heard sirens in the distance. So far, so good – his plan was in motion. ************************************************************************************************************ Skye couldn’t stop pacing the floor. Back and forth, back and forth she went, not sure how much longer she could stand waiting before she went out herself in search of Jax. Her feeling of uneasiness had turned into dread over the past hour as she had sat in wait of Jax’ return. Upon hearing sirens in the distance that slowly grew in volume, Skye’s dread turned into pure alarm. Quickly throwing on a pair of shoes, Skye went outside and began walking toward the sound of the sirens. Her pace quickened as she saw activity up ahead. As she drew nearer to the scene, Skye could see a person being loaded into an ambulance, two police cars standing by, and another car with someone leaning against it, talking to the cops. Breaking into a run, Skye quickly covered the remaining distance to reach the accident site. As she approached the scene, her eyes widened in surprise as she recognized Carly. “Carly, what is going on?” Skye yelled over the sounds of the sirens as the ambulance pulled away. Carly looked up at the woman who she had shared many disagreements with but who she knew also seemed to love the man that the ambulance carried. Her eyes had a haunted look to them as they met Skye’s. No words were spoken, yet the meaning came through loud and clear. “No! Tell me that wasn’t Jax!” Skye continued to stare at Carly in disbelief, hoping she had misread the look in Carly’s eyes. “Skye, I’m sorry,” Carly choked out, then stopped as Taggert stepped toward Skye. “Ms. Chandler Quartermaine, let me give you a ride to the hospital,” he suggested, gently taking her by the arm. Skye yanked her arm away, her eyes not leaving Carly’s. “No, I want her to tell me how this happened!” she demanded. “What did you do to Jax? Is… is he…” She couldn’t bring herself to say the word that was on the tip of her tongue. Carly shook her head. “No, but he is in bad shape,” she said softly, looking at the ground. “You little…” Skye started toward Carly. Taggert cut in, stopping Skye before she could reach Carly. “This isn’t helping the situation any,” Taggert told her, but Skye cut him off with a scathing look. “It was an accident.” Carly shook as she uttered the words, unable to stop a few tears from falling. “Don’t you dare!” Skye yelled at her, pointing her finger at Carly. “You don’t deserve to cry, not after what you did!” She gave one final look of disgust to Carly, then turned toward Taggert. “Take me to the hospital,” she ordered him in a low voice. Taggert nodded and opened the door of the police car for Skye, then hurried to the other side. “This officer will take your statement down at the station,” he told Carly before getting in the car with Skye. Skye sat silently, gazing out the window as the police car sped toward GH. She couldn’t help but think the worst, especially since she wasn’t exactly known for her optimism. One thought continually floated through her head, and she couldn’t make it stop – what would she do if Jax didn’t make it? |