Chapter 18
BEFORE THE BLACK OUT… BACK TO THE VOID
The trip to the void was quiet, which was fine with me. I just wanted to get my mind stable and prepared to be in a place that brought me nothing but pain and turmoil. I was sure VC was thinking the same damn thing.
I always thought The Void was out of the country or a far distance away, mainly because any time we went on missions they would make sure we couldn’t see. I realized now they drove or moved us more than necessary, so none of us could retrace our steps.
After a three-hour plane ride and another hour drive, the sun still hadn’t risen, so it appeared as if it was night, although it was about three in the morning. Our twenty-four-hour window was still some time away. We didn’t plan on wasting a second of it. VC parked the car beneath a brush of trees along the long road that would lead us back to our past. I was willing to face anything to save Skye. She didn’t deserve to be a pawn in a game she didn’t understand.
We got out of the car and made our way to the trunk to get ready.
“You’ve been quiet this entire trip. You ready for this?” VC asked.
I snickered and then looked over at VC. “I could say the same thing to you. You know what we’re walking into.”
He smirked and nodded. “Touché.”
“Where the hell is all this backup you so called got in touch with?” I asked.
When one branch moved behind us, it caused us to turn around quickly with our guns drawn. Raven and Shiloh to step out of the brush, followed by Makena and Red Eye, each sporting a smirk, all but Red Eye.
“Did I hear the great Knox asking for backup? Hell must have frozen over,” Raven said.
We holstered our weapons and slowly walked over to them in greeting.
“Man, gone head. My question is, how the hell did he get y’all to come out here for my mess?” I asked.
Shiloh bumped VC’s shoulder. “You know better than that. This man can find any damn body, but on some serious shit, we family, even though you don’t like to claim it. We are dysfunctional as hell, but we all we got. Who else gone better have your back than us? I’m waiting.”
I shook my head to hold back to tears that were begging to fall. He was right. I just wanted to wash them away because good things didn’t happen to us. I wanted to avoid emotions and people because they only disappointed you. There was no one else who could go through what we were about to but us.
“Yeah, aight. I appreciate it though. It’s time for us to take our control back. Now let’s get this damn plan together. I’m sure Vlad has guards and snipers covering the building. VC and I got the buildings maps so we know every exit and entrance.”
Raven stepped forward with her sniper gun. “Shiloh and I can cover you by taking out the snipers and the guards before you reach the clearing.”
“We need an exit strategy?—”
Red eye stepped forward. “You know we got that.”
VC looked at Red Eye with a raise of his brow. “You flew here?”
“Come on now, you know better. I don’t do cars. The shit takes too long. I spotted a helicopter on my way here. Must be her escape if shit gets too wild. I’ll find that,” Red Eye responded.
“Makena, you’re with us. It doesn’t matter who gets in our way, they’re dead. Simple.”
“Sounds like a good time to me. Once we’re done with the clearing, we will be right behind you,” Shiloh said.
“Only calculated risks! This is not a suicide mission,” I added.
“Let me find out you give a fuck and are finally ready to show it!” Shiloh said with a smirk.
I ignored him and turned around to finish pulling on my bullet-proof vest, then grabbed a few to toss over to everyone. “Just don’t get killed.”
The understanding was clear. We all make it out alive. VC handed everyone Bluetooth mics to place into their ears so we could communicate.
Raven and Shiloh slipped off back into the heavy brush of the trees to find a good high point. VC grabbed his laptop, throwing it over his shoulder in a bag that was secure. Makena checked her gun a few times and made sure her reloads were ready to go. Red Eye slipped into the brush of the trees.
I said a silent prayer that we all made it back safely. I couldn’t add anyone else to my conscience. VC, Makena, and I made our way through the brush. We had to have walked for at least a mile before the large imposing building that emulated a castle but held a darkness that stuck to the stone gray walls. We stood at the edge and waited for a moment.
My heart picked up in pace as we waited for any word from Raven or Shiloh that we could step out into the open. I drummed a pattern with the tips of my fingers against the side of my thigh. Then, just like that, I watched as a body fell from the top of a tower, followed by a few more.
“It’s go time,” Shiloh said in a cool tone.
Without hesitation, we rushed from the brush, running toward the building. A few guards rushed from the inside because they noticed we were getting through with no trouble. Before they could lift their weapons, their bodies dropped to the ground. Finally, we were inside. No longer did we have cover. It was on us.
“We’re inside,” I informed them.
Soon, guards were rushing around the corner. Quickly, I shot the first two between the eyes. Makena slid across the floor, cutting the next two at their ankles with her blades before slitting their throats. I shook my head. She could have guns at her disposal, but she preferred those damn butterfly knives.
“VC get to—” I started before he interrupted.
“Already headed there,” he responded, just as someone stepped in his way.
He moved fast, snapping the guy’s neck, then stepped over his body to continue through the opening. A few minutes passed before the lights went out. I smiled because they didn’t know these halls the way we did.
“It’s time to play!” Makena announced with a smirk.
She followed me down the long dark hall. I could remember when we were kids, being woken up in the middle of the night. We were blindfolded, and they beat the hell out of us if they were able to hear us coming. According to them, you should be able to walk anywhere in the dark. Light was a privilege.
Little did they know that one day those same kids they tormented would be back to use those tactics they trained them to do on them. Neither of our steps could be heard but the guards running the halls were making more than enough noise for all of us.
I knew the way Vlad thought. She was going to try to break Skye’s spirit while she had her. She knew she grew up in a well off situation, so there was no other place she would take her than the ice box. It was the one place you never wanted to be. When you were sent there, you were never seen again, except for me.
I shook my head to wash out the heavy memories of those dark days. This was all part of her plan to make us lose ourselves, but Skye was worth more than that. Just as we turned the corner, we heard a door slam in the distance, and a few more guards came rushing out.
I didn’t waste a second before I shot with Makena, throwing blades behind me. The moment we took out every guard in front of us, just as many showed up behind us.
“Go, this is just a tactic so she can get away with her. I got this!” Makena shouted.
I hesitated for a moment, for the first time in my career. I was torn, but the fire in Makena’s eyes let me know I needed to go. I turned and rushed toward the door. I slowed up my steps as I came up to the playroom. Some of my worst memories took place in this room.
I reached out to touch the door handle and paused.
The Playroom—Many years ago…
“You think you run things, don’t you?” Ms. Vlad asked.
I stood still, with no emotion and no reaction. That was what she wanted. She liked to see the pain she inflicted to show. It only made it worse when she didn’t get the reaction she wanted, but I didn’t care. She wouldn’t see me shed a single tear.
“Do you hear me speaking to you? You know what? No need to speak a second longer. You’re going to learn.”
Two of her usual guards stepped out of the shadows to walk me over to what looked like an X with straps. It was made to fit my height, or at least it felt that way since I had noticed more just like it against the walls when I came in, but in smaller or larger sizes. They turned me around roughly, then pulled my arms up on each side before locking me in, followed by them locking in my legs.
I looked down and noticed a trapdoor beneath my feet. I didn’t know what was beneath me, but I knew it wouldn’t be good. Soon, the guards walked away from the platform and stood near the doors. While Ms. Vlad stood poised by a machine with a wide smile. Soon, the trap doors beneath my feet opened to reveal the dark depths below. I didn’t need her to tell me what was next as the contraption they tied me to lowered itself into the pool.
I timed the speed of the motor in my head, calculating how long I would be submerged. The moment the liquid reached my neck, the motor stopped.
“Oh, you didn’t think I would just dunk you under for a while, did you? That would have been too easy for you. Oh no, it’s going to be much worse, and you will scream if I have to break your bones myself to do it,” Ms. Vlad called out.
A whistle went up in the air and soon the pressure in the pool seemed to feel heavier. As the seconds went by, it only got heavier. Yet I wouldn’t allow a scream to slip between my lips. She was trying to kill me, and in this moment, I figured maybe it was my time to go. So I closed my eyes and thanked God for finally ending this torment.
My breathing was cut, and the edges of my vision blurred.
“Knox! She is getting away. Snap out of it!” VC yelled through the mic.
Then a shrill scream pushed me to twist the doorknob. Skye was strapped to the same board as I had been that fateful day. I was trained for this and she wasn’t. Skye wouldn’t last a moment in those waters.
“It is so nice to see you again, Knox. How does it feel to be back home?” Ms. Vlad asked.
One of her guards stood next to her with his gun trained on me. The thought that he felt he could do anything with me was funny. I cocked my gun and shot him between the eyes, then pointed my gun at Ms. Vlad. She immediately placed her gun against Skye’s temple and cocked it to let me know she had a bullet in the chamber.
“You thought you were going to come into my house and run me out of it? You thought wrong.”
“Nah, you thought you were fucking with those same kids you used to bully. That night when I came into that mansion. It was a setup to cancel VC and me. I don’t know how you infiltrated our missions, but you did. The thing you had those kids doing in that room, but you tried to pose it as if I had done it. You just didn’t imagine I would make it out of that house.”
Her scowl deepened. “You and VC did everything in your power to best me, even as kids! The country was going to honor you and allow you to retire. You didn’t deserve a damn thing! I did! I should have been honored. I’m the reason you are who you are today! Yet my contributions were ignored. You and the rest of those brats were nothing but worthless wards of the state that I found a job for.”
I thought her spewing this much hate would influence me, but when someone said things to you that you’ve heard all your life, it just doesn’t have the same effect as it used to. I chuckled and shook my head.
“Now drop your gun or she is dead.”
I knew she would kill her whether or not I dropped my gun.
“Drop the gun. Trust me,” VC said into the mic.
I slowly bent down and placed my gun on the floor. Instead of pulling the trigger, she hit the machine, which would lower Skye into the water beneath her. She then pointed her gun at me. I dropped my ear piece next to my gun then moved just as shots rang out into the room. One bullet from above hit Ms. Vlad between her eyes, and the other pierced my shoulder. I couldn’t feel a thing as I watched Skye being pulled into the water. I dived through the opening to unhook her.
The pressure of the water was at an all-time high. If I was struggling to breathe, I knew she was too, probably more so. Her eyes were locked on mine as they slowly closed, causing me to move faster. I finally released Skye from the contraption. I swam up to the surface to see Makena leaning down into the hole to grab Skye from me. She got a good grip on her, then pulled her up.
The pressure of the water was now pressing down harder on my chest, in combination with the amount of blood I was sure I had lost. My energy was just about gone. I stopped fighting to get to the top. All I could hear was my name being shouted, but I was tired. I should have died all those years ago, but now I saw this was why I made it. To save Skye. My eyes closed, and every moment of happiness I got to experience with Skye played in my mind. Her smile, the sweet taste of her, the sway of her hips, her laugh, my friendship with VC, the moments I shared with the others, it all played like a slideshow.
Arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me to the surface, then onto the hard cement floors. I coughed as water came from nose and mouth. I looked over to see VC breathing hard beside me.
“Why do I have to keep saving your ass all the time?” he asked.
“Fuck you.” I coughed, then laughed. “Nah, but really, thank you.” I said once the lighthearted moment passed.
“You don’t have to thank me. Just live.”
I nodded as he helped me up, and the top of the building opened to reveal a helicopter. I turned to see Makena walking away from the button against the wall.
“Our rides here. Let’s get the hell on before more people show the fuck up.”
The ladder from the helicopter dropped, and Makena leaned down to help Skye up.
“You think you can make it up the ladder without help?” I asked her.
She nodded and Makena took a step back so she could climb up ahead of her in case she got weak along the way. I followed Makena with VC climbing up behind me. Once we were all inside of the plane, Shiloh and Raven still shot out of the side as Red Eye went higher.
“Oh, I have a little surprise for y’all!” Red Eye yelled from the front.
Each of us looked at each other in question. Everyone but Raven and Shiloh, who was smiling big as a big boom as flames rose from what used to be our past. The sounds of the explosions continued all around the building, burning our childhood at the Void to the ground.
Skye slid next to me and wrapped her arms around my waist as we all settled into our own thoughts. Tonight, we all reclaimed our lives and our identities. Fuck the Void.