(A.N.: Dear all my reader, I've been way too out of touch. Things have been crazy and it stinks that I can't post that much. But I should tell you that I always want to write. I open my notes and try writing every night.
Evan: Why would you write that?!
Me: I'm just trying to tell them the truth.
Evan: This need to be perfect, this Author's Note has to prove that you were actually writing. Just- I'll do it.
A.N.: I gotta tell ya that this whole month has been hard.
Me: Hard?
A.N.: has been bad.
Me: Bad?
A.N.: has been rough.
Me: Perfect!
A.N.: And I miss freaking out over Jack and other stuff.
Me: Very specific.
Ima stop right there. 😂 Sorry, I couldn't resist! DEH is amazing! Sincerely, Me always makes me want to get up and dance. Anyways, I'm sorry I've been so absent. I've had four separate graduations to attend this May alone. All of them within the span of a week. Lots of my friends survived high school but I'm stuck with a double senior year so yay *note the enormous amount of sarcasm*. Y'all have waited long enough for this so here y'all go!)

"P-P-Please st-stop." He whimpered out a pain filled plea.

An amused cackle came in response. "Stop? You stupid boy. As long as you disrespect and disobey me, this will never stop. It will only get worse for you Kelly." Snyder jeered, not lowering his cane.

He instead raised it high before bringing it down to strike him again. Jack braced himself for the blow and the pain that would follow.

Then he started waking up.

It was just a dream. Or a memory. Whatever it was, Jack was happy it was over with.

'What happened? Where am I? Why am I so cold?' He thought.

His eyes fluttered open for half a second before he shut them tight. Whatever light he saw hurt his eyes. But he pushed through the pain and opened them again.

His vision was blurry but slowly coming into focus. While his eyes adjusted he proceeded to sit up, even though his head as well as every bone and muscle in his body ached and screamed in protest.

He knew he was on the ground, found a nearby wall and leaned his back against it for support. His eyes had finally cleared up and he let out a small gasp at his location, now completely frozen.

It was his old bunk room at the Refuge.

Everything looked the same, minus the emaciated children with more cuts and bruises than anyone could count.

The events of earlier came rushing back through his mind and his thoughts went straight to Katherine.

Was she okay? Did she get away? Was he ever going to see her again? Did his brothers even know what happened?

His head pounded harder as he thought of more questions, but he ignored it.

Gathering what strength he could find, he slowly got to his feet and used the bunks to aid his slightly wobbling legs. Putting one foot in front of the other and going as fast as he could, he was able to make it to the door.

His hand grasped the doorknob and tried to turn it, only to find it locked. Not long after he tried the doorknob did he heard footsteps approach.

Knowing who would be on the other side, Jack scrambled around the dingey room in hopes of finding something he can use as a weapon.

His eyes landed on a thin iron rod. He took hold of it and hid himself in a dark corner of the room.

Mere seconds later, Oscar and Morris stormed into the room. Their eyes went wide when there was no Jack in sight.

"Where'd he go?!" Oscar demanded.

"He's still in this room. The door and window were both locked." Morris declared as he stepped around the room, examining the area.

He glanced over at a corner and saw brief movement. He used a hand signal and got Oscar to move in sync with himself. They both lunged into the corner and started fighting with whomever was hiding there.

Unbeknownst to them, Jack crept out of his actual hiding spot and snuck out the open door, still clutching the rod. He descended the stairs as quickly as he could but he wasn't fast enough.

The Delancy's quickly realized they were fighting each other and dashed for the hallway, finding Jack halfway down the second flight of stairs.

"Kelly!" Morris' voice boomed through the space like a tiger roar.

Jack's head snapped upward for a second before he resumed his descent but at a much quicker pace.

He could hear Oscar and Morris gaining on him. He did his best despite his agonizing pain. He just had to get away.

He felt a strong hand grab his shirt collar and jerk him rearward on the last flight of stairs. Jack landed on his side and a very loud *CRACK* sounded throughout the hall.

He groaned in pain but managed to focus his darkening gaze on Morris, who was smirking.

"Thought you could pull a fast one eh. Well, I guess now it's only gonna get worse for ya Kelly."

And then everything went black.

Meanwhile somewhere in Manhattan....

"Davey, are you sure this plan will work?" Jojo asked, skeptical.

"It's the best one I've got. I'm just glad Les didn't come to work today. He would have run off to the Refuge his first chance to try and save Jack before I would even know what happened." Davey replied.

"Does everyone know what to do?" Joey inquired. Everyone nodded. "Good." He turned to Katherine, who was standing beside him.

"Kath, I know you want to come with us, but I couldn't live with myself if I let you get hurt. And Jack would wring all of our necks if he saw you there and something happened."

Katherine was touched by his worry, but nothing and no one was keeping her from Jack.

"Joey, there's no way in hell or on earth that I'm staying behind. Not a single boy here will agree with you or try to stop me. I'm going to rescue him, with or without your protection." She informed him.

Race, who of course heard everything, leaned over to Joey with a grin. "She ain't wrong. If the Delancy's were worth the emotion, I'd pity them for when, not if, WHEN Kathy get them in 'er sights."

Katherine giggled. Joey unwillingly gave in. "Fine. If these past weeks have taught me anything, it's that you can't tell Katherine Plumber "No.""

Katherine smiled at that. Then she whirled around and marched over to Davey, Crutchie, and Alice. Davey was just finishing the last few details of their plan, Crutchie was trying to keep everyone's moral up, and Alice was gathering together her medical supplies, knowing that Jack would be badly injured.

Once everyone was prepared and ready, Katherine spoke up. "Alright everyone. Let's go save Jack!" She exclaimed. Cheers and hollers rang out through the room.

Then they set out to rescue their friend and brother.

(Another chapter down! I'm so sorry again for taking so long. I've been soooooooooooo busy. But I will try to update again soon! With love from Panda! ❤🐼)