And that was the last thing Jessica clearly remembered happening.
She popped up, aimed at the bearded man's head and fired. And she barely had time to feel relief when her shot hit its target. She turned and fired at the man nearest Riley. She wanted them dead. All of them dead. With a growl she tossed the spent rifle aside and ran toward the gunmen.
Jim heard the shot and squeezed his eyes shut, but moments later realized that he was still alive. Then he heard Josh gasp "Jessica!"
Jim opened his eyes and couldn't believe what he saw. Jessica running toward them in her bikini, gun belt around her waist. She had a six shooter in each hand and she was firing at the men around them, and they were falling.
"No!" he heard Angus yell and Jim noticed a gunman near him raising his gun at Jessica. Jim threw himself forward, hitting the gunman and forcing his gun to fire wide. But Jim fell to the ground, and struggled to turn over so he could see Jessica. She was still firing. He looked around. Josh was struggling to get to his feet, Scott was trying to roll to his knees. Angus and Riley writhed on the ground trying to roll over and get up too. When he looked back at Jessica, he realized that she no longer had her six shooters and had miraculously pulled a rifle from behind her.
She fired and for a moment it looked like all the gunmen were down but then to Jim's horror a couple popped up. Christ ... she'd been shooting at their torsos, like they'd taught her. But these guys must have been wearing bullet proof vests.
Jessica seemed to realize it too because she slid to a stop, dropped to a knee and fired at one man's head, brain and blood flying out the back of his head when she hit her mark.
She tossed her rifle, pulled a shotgun from nowhere and fired but the man she was firing at fired at the same time and Jim screamed "No!" when Jessica's right shoulder bucked and she flew back.
Jim heard the other men yell "Jessica!"
Angus couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was surreal. He felt terror grip him, he was sure Jessica was dead but then she sat up, pointed the shot gun at the man who'd shot her. She pulled the trigger but there was nothing but a click. She pulled it over and over. Then she seemed to realize that the gunman's gun was empty too. She slid her eyes over to the gun that lay near Daryl. She made a move toward it but the man whose gun was empty moved to block her.
"Well, well, looky here." He said, tossing his empty gun and looking at the other two men that were still left standing with him. "Looks like we'll get our fun afterall." He wiped his hand over his mouth and stepped forward. Jessica looked around at the three men surrounding her. Her left arm hung by her side, blood from her shoulder soaking her shirt, but Scott was relieved to see that she was still able to use her arm. She held her hands up and near her body in the fighting stance the men had taught her.
"Run Jess, run!" Scott yelled. And to his horror she did, she ran right at the man. The man hadn't expected it and looked completely surprised when Jessica drop kicked him. When he got up she spun around and kicked his head, punched him in the nose, and landed a fist to his Adams apple. He clutched his neck and dropped to his knees.
The other two men who were watching laughed, dropped their guns and moved toward Jessica.
"Got beatin' up by a girl Troy?" one of the men demanded.
"For God sakes Jessica, run!" Riley yelled through clenched jaws.
"Jessica!" Josh yelled when she advanced on Troy kicked him in his nuts, and connected a right hook to his nose.
"Behind you!" Angus yelled when the third man came up behind her. Jessica threw her elbow back catching the man in the sternum. Stomping on his toe she threw herself forward just as his arms were about to close around her. She scrambled toward Daryl's gun. Jim turned himself and nudged the gun toward Jessica.
"Thank you!" Jessica whispered, grabbing the gun, turning and firing right in the man's forehead. He dropped and Jessica screamed, but she didn't have long to register what she'd done. Still holding his throat, the first man lunged at her. Jessica grabbed the barrel of the rifle, swung the gun like a baseball bat and smashed it against his head. And he dropped.
"That's it bitch." The third man said and Jessica turned to see him advancing on her, a huge knife in his hands which he tossed back and forth as he moved forward. "I don't give a shit if I fuck you when you're alive or dead. I'm going to slice up that fucking whore face of yours ..." and he swung the knife out at her. Jessica moved back, just a moment too slow and the knife sliced her chest. Jessica cried out with pain.
"God no ..." Scott moaned, "Jessica run ..."
But Jessica opted for a roundhouse kick hitting the man's hand that held the knife. It didn't knock it out of his hand but it was enough impact for him to step back. Riley wiggled and twisted and dragged himself toward the man.
"Again Jess!" he yelled as he maneuvered himself directly behind the man. Jessica kicked him again and he stumbled over Riley. Without a seconds pause Jessica threw herself on him, grabbed the hand that clutched the knife with both her hands and bashed it against the ground. The knife fell away the second time she hit the ground, but he raised his free arm and punched Jessica in the back of the head. Jessica swooned for a moment, reached for the knife, and ducking another punch, raised her arms in the air, knife clenched between her hands and thrust the knife down as hard as she could into his throat. Jessica scrambled off the man and fell on her butt on the ground. The man clutched his throat, blood gargling out, a strange sound escaping him, he lunged toward her, but then fell face down on the ground.
"Crap!" She yelled as the man she'd hit with the rifle started to moan and move on the ground. She pushed to her feet and ran past Riley and the two bodies lying near him to one of the rifles on the ground. She cracked it open, look inside, shut it and moved to stand over the moaning man. Pointing the gun at his head she closed her eyes and pulled the trigger.
Jessica stood with her eyes clenched for a minute, letting the rifle drop.
Opening her eyes she looked at the shattered skull of the man at her feet, turned and vomited.
"Jess ..." Josh said, stunned.
Jessica straightened, looked around and when none of the gunmen seemed to be moving she dropped to her knees next to Riley. He turned on his stomach and Jessica pulled on the rope binding his hands and feet.
"The knife ..." she panted, "I need the knife." She pushed up.
"Where are you going?" Riley demanded, looking up he saw Jessica kneel over the man she'd stabbed.
"Oh yuck." She said as she pulled the knife out of his throat. Returning to Riley she sawed the rope until it snapped. As he sat up and pulled the rope off his ankles and wrists Jessica went to Jim, Josh, Angus and Scott cutting all of their ropes.
When she moved to stand-up Scott grabbed her arm and pulled her down against him.
Jessica pressed her face into his chest, and then lifted her head to kiss his lips.
"Are you okay?' she asked.
"Am I okay?" he asked with a laugh, "I guess I am now. Are you okay?"
"Fine ... now." Jessica said.
"Oh fuck!" Angus swore when cars pulled into the driveway. He struggled to get up. "Run Jessica!" he growled.
"It's Sean and Corey." Jessica said.
"Sean?" Angus asked.
"Holy shit." Corey said, moving toward them, holding a rifle in his hands. Sean, Leah, a few men Jessica had met at the jam session and Beth emerged from the cars.
"I guess you guys managed okay on your own." Sean said walking around and looking at the dead bodies.
"Not us." Riley said, struggling to his feet. "Jess saved us."
"Jess?" Corey repeated.
"Yup." Josh said moving to where Scott stood with an arm draped around Jessica.
The men limped toward Jessica. Angus moved up and pressed his forehead against hers ... the others closed in forming a group hug.
"I thought we were fucking toast." Angus said. "God I thought we were dead."
"We were dead. As good as ..." Riley said.
"And then you ... you crazy, insane, stupid girl ... I couldn't believe my eyes." Jim muttered.
