Throbbing
Fiona
There isn’t time to wait. I need to get out of here. Or at least get Mouse’s phone and call Max to bring in the troops to rescue me.
He’s close enough that all it would take is one good toss of the knife. The only problem is Trixie. If she yells, I’ll be dead before anyone has a chance to come.
But she could be a woman doing whatever she needs to do to survive. Gemma said she took care of her. I’ve got to take a chance. If she starts, I’ll do what needs to be done.
You can do this. You hesitated the last time, and your best friend endured decades of torment and pain. No hesitation.
No fear.
I pretend to trip and slide the knives out of my boots.
Visualize.
Target.
Toss.
Thunk. Mouse crashes to the ground.
“Don’t kill me. Please don’t kill me. He made me do all of this. All I want to do is live.”
Do I believe her? She didn’t yell. “Get in the cage and stay quiet if you want to live.”
She nods and runs to the cage, locking herself in.
Phone. I need his phone. And my knife back.
That’s going to be gross.
Don’t hesitate. I grab my knife, yanking hard and wiping the blood on Mouse’s shirt.
It takes less than a second to unlock the phone.
Vex gave me a number to call, but my fingers dial another.
The phone picks up before the first ring finishes. “Max.”
“Tesoro mio, you’re alive.”
“Everett put a tracker in me. I don’t know if it’s working or not. Can you track this phone?”
“Better than that, I’m right outside. I’ll be there in a few minutes. Just stay alive until I get to you.”
He’s here. He came to rescue me. “The door is locked. I don’t think anyone will try to come in here.”
“Good. The lights are about to go out.”
As he says the words, the world goes dark. I’m trapped in a room with deadly creatures, and it’s pitch black.
“Stay with me. I’m coming for you, Fiona.”
Vex… “You need to tell Vex his sister isn’t here.”
“You just did. He’s on the comms with us.”
He needs to know. “Vex, she’s alive…Mouse sold her. He said she’ll be in a cage for the rest of her life.”
“Mouse is mine.” Vex’s emotionless voice hurts to listen to.
“That’s impossible. I killed him a few minutes ago. But there might be someone who can help.” I turn to where Trixie is.
“Time on the clock is ten minutes,” Everett chimes in. “Get her and get out.”
There are thumping noises outside the doors.
That’s them.
“We’re clear. Lights are coming back.” Ethan says right as they click on.
“Open the doors before I break them down.” Vex's bedside manner could use a little work.
“Coming.” I rush over and unbolt the lock.
Almost as soon as the doors open, arms wrap around me.
Before I can even hug him back, Max tosses me over his shoulder.
The bouncing and my head make the world spin, but I don’t complain. I’m alive.
“Where is the person who might know where my sister is?” Vex demands.
“In the cage.” I try to point, but it’s almost impossible.
Vex marches to the cage. Is he planning on opening it with his bare hands? Anything is possible with all that adrenaline pumping through him.
“The key is in Mouse’s pocket.”
Trixie backs into the corner of the cage as Vex approaches.
“Hey, Vex.” He turns to me. “Remember, this is the woman who took care of Gemma.”
“How do you know Gemma?” Trixie’s eyes go wide.
“She’s how we found this place. Someone brought her to Willow Street.”
“It worked. It wasn’t an urban legend.” The shock in her voice is palpable.
“Time is running out,” Everett says over the phone.
“What about the others? They’re locked in their cages.”
Trixie’s right. “We need to save them.”
“We’re working on it now. There are more than we expected.” Talon’s voice comes over the line. “There’s no way we’ll get them all out in time.”
“Time?” The tracker...Everett’s little issue. “Take me and let them follow me away from here.”
“Fea,” Max pleads.
“They deserve to live too. Let’s lead them away. We’ve got to try.”
“Fine. You’ve got ten extra minutes. Use every one of them.” Max moves towards the door.
“Put me down. I can run.”
He doesn’t fight.
I’m on my feet with dizzying speed, and we’re off running through rooms and past bodies to the front door.
“Everett, if we’re going to get out of this, I’m going to need support,” Max says, not stopping.
“I’m working on a clear path for you. You need an amped-up jammer to block all images of the vehicles.”
“We have bogies. They’re five minutes out from seeing our choppers.” Ethan sounds like he’s done this a million times.
Probably because he has.
“I can’t use a jammer, or they won’t see her tracker. You need to find me a path without cameras.”
Jammers…cameras…all of it is too much to follow.
“Get in.” Max opens the door and helps me up into the car before running around to the driver’s side. “Do you have a path for me?”
“I’m working on it. Follow the arrows…and ignore the speed limits.”
Great.
“Buckle up, tesoro mio.”
That’s all the warning I get. The car zooms forward.
“Mute audio input.” Max doesn’t take his eyes off the road. “How are you really feeling?”
Am I feeling anymore? “Adrenaline is taking care of most of it.”
“You’ve got to be cold.” He turns up the temperature. “What about your head?”
“It’ll be fine.”
“That’s not an answer.”
It’s the only one I have to give. “When this is done, I’m going to have a doozy of a headache.”
“Bogies are on your tail,” Ethan says.
“Unmute audio. Got it. Everett, I can’t outrun choppers for long.”
I’m going to get everyone caught.
“We just need seven more minutes to get everyone loaded,” Talon shouts. “We’re moving as fast as we can, but some of them aren’t mobile.”
So much pain. So much trauma. “We need to give them more time.”
“I’m working as fast as I can, Fiona.”
Everett can only hack so fast. We need the tracker to move away from us…without us touching it. “I need a bathroom.”
“Can’t you hold it a few minutes? We really don’t have time.” Max glances at me quickly.
“No, not like that.”
“Brilliant, Fiona,” Everett shouts. “She wants to drop the tracker down a sewer line. We just need to find one that won’t lead them back to our people…
give me a second. I’m pulling up the schematics now…
Not that one…That won’t work…Jackpot. Feeding you new coordinates.
You’re probably going to need a pry bar to gain access. It’s in the middle of the street.”
“Subtle. Really subtle.”
“Like you could do any better, old man.”
I reach up and try to feel my stitches. Pain shoots through my head, making me dizzy. Push through. They might have busted open. Then, all you need to do is pry the tracker out.
“Has anyone told Max he’s going to have to cut his girlfriend’s head open to make this plan of his work?” Vex asks.
“We need another plan,” Max snaps.
No one speaks.
“There isn’t time. Give me a knife. I can do it.” Hopefully, without impaling my head too much.
“Make sure Mom is waiting for our arrival.”
“She’s already there waiting with Barb and all the other doctors who work on The Street.” Maddox answers. “Barb will be faster. That woman is a beast when it comes to stitches.”
“Fine.” The car jerks to a stop, and Max shrugs off his jacket and then tugs off his shirt.
What’s going on? I mean, I know on the television they always find a reason for the guy with a nice chest to take his shirt off, but really, now isn’t the time.
“Hold this to the side of your head. There’s going to be a lot of blood.” Max hands me his t-shirt.
Well, that’s a better reason than I thought. I lean forward, bending my head down.
With just the overhead light and a pocketknife, Max is going to perform surgery on me.
I grab onto his thigh and squeeze.
“Remember, time is of the essence. You don’t need to make it pretty.” Ethan reminds us.
“Just do it. I can handle it.”
Max hesitates for one second.
Then, a sharp, blinding pain tears apart my head. This was a bad idea.
A very bad idea.
But probably not my worst of the night…we’ll give that prize to the cobra.
“Almost got it. Just one more second.”
That second feels like a million heartbeats later.
“It’s out. Cover the wound. I’ll be right back.” He pops out of the SUV, running to the trunk to grab one of those weird tools you use to change a tire…at least I think that’s what it does.
Warm blood flows through my fingers…I press the t-shirt harder…
This might have been worse…The world goes black.