Chapter 21 #2
They were everywhere, and it was starting to feel like she was never going to find her way out of them.
Didn't help that she had to keep darting in different directions to try to evade the man after her.
Terry Richards was bigger and stronger and faster, but she was smaller, and she used that to be able to squeeze herself into small spaces to hide.
Twice now Terry had gone right past her, close enough for her to see, close enough that if he just turned his head, he’d be able to see her too.
Thankfully, he never did. He thought he was going to use the things he had over her to his advantage, but big and strong didn't always win, Whitney was starting to realize that.
Still, she also knew her luck couldn’t last indefinitely.
Sooner or later, he was going to turn his head at the wrong moment—or right moment for him—and spot her.
What she needed was a proper plan. One that didn't just involve running in circles, crossing her fingers, and hoping for the best. That wasn't going to save her life, and that’s what she was playing for.
Terry might want her back because he was obsessed with her, but she wanted to live.
For the first time ever, a chance at a real life, at autonomy, at happiness, at independence, at love, was within her grasp and she wasn't giving it up.
Not for Terry Richards, and not for Dr. Gardner.
“You can't outrun me forever, little one,” Terry called out, far too close for her liking. But at least he sounded winded, so she wasn't the only one exhausted from running through the shipping yard.
Weak as she’d already been before she snuck out of that shipping container, now she was teetering on the edge of utter exhaustion. Changing direction once again, Whitney eyed the stack of containers beside her.
What if she could climb up them?
Not only would Terry not be looking for her up there, instead assuming she was still running, but it would also give her a better view of the yard. Maybe then she’d be able to find a way out, because if she kept trying to outrun Terry, she was going to wind up collapsing from exhaustion.
Once that happened, it would all be over.
She’d be found, he’d take her away someplace else, or put her back in that shipping container, but wherever he put her, she knew he would never allow her another opportunity to escape.
If she wanted to live, find her way back to Blade, then she had to try this.
Taking another couple of turns, the sounds of Terry’s heavy breathing and pounding footsteps dulling a little as she put a bit of distance between them, she stopped. It felt wrong not to be moving, even as her shaking body thanked her for the reprieve, but Whitney knew she had to play this smart.
So she reached up for the shipping container before her and started to climb.
It wasn't easy, it felt like working her way up the side of a mountain.
There weren't many places to grab onto, and she had no experience with rock climbing, any sort of climbing, or even something as simple as hiking. As a kid, she’d been made to study all the time, extracurricular activities like dance, t-ball, or soccer weren't on the table, so her muscles were weak, and she had been shaky to begin with.
Somehow, determination proved to be what she needed, and an excruciating however many minutes later, she pulled herself up onto the roof of the top container.
For several minutes, all she could do was lie there, panting, tears burning her eyes and spilling down her cheeks, leaving icy trails in their wake.
Shaking from cold, fear, and exhaustion, Whitney knew she still needed to keep moving, she was far from safe even if she’d bought herself a little bit of time.
When she knew she couldn’t afford to waste another second, she rolled over onto her front, planted her palms against the cold metal, and pushed up onto her hands and knees. The world swirled around her, and she had to pause before shoving up to her feet.
Again, the world did a sickening spin, and she threw out a hand to catch herself on something, only there was nothing to catch herself on, and she staggered sideways, coming precariously close to the edge.
The last thing she needed was to fall.
She was twenty-five odd feet high on top of the three container stack.
While she could survive that fall, even with the concrete ground below, she wouldn't be surviving it intact. Broken bones, internal injuries, spinal cord damage, brain damage, any or all of those could occur, and since she and Terry were the only ones out there, he’d be the one to find her.
He’d either finish her off, or if Dr. Gardner was determined to keep her, she’d be taken to a doctor first, then returned to work when she was healed enough.
Righting herself, Whitney looked around, trying to make sense of the maze of containers to find a way out.
Something caught her eye.
Movement.
But not one person, it looked like several, three at least, moving together, closing in on her location.
Had Terry called in help?
Heart hammering in her chest, she tried to breathe through the panic threatening to render her useless.
The figures started moving faster. Heading right for her.
Had they spotted her?
A small whimper escaped even though she did her best to hold it inside. It had been stupid to think she stood a chance at escaping. Of course she didn't.
“Whitney!”
That voice. It was Blade’s.
Snapping her gaze back to the three figures she could see approaching her, she tried to look closer, see if she recognized them. It was Blade’s voice, so he had to be one of them. Maybe they really had been there all this time, trying to find her.
Hope soared until she heard Blade call out again.
“Behind you!”
Spinning around, she saw her worst nightmare coming to life right before her very eyes, and she was powerless to do anything to stop it from happening. Terry Richards was running toward her. There was a manic glint in his eyes that she could see even in the thin moonlight.
A glint she could easily read.
He knew the two of them were no longer alone, and he knew that if he was caught by Blade and his team, they’d torture him for information before killing him.
He also had to know he was going to lose her.
Even if he hadn't known before that she had joined up with the team Dr. Gardner was hunting, Blade had just called out her name so now Terry knew that the Delta Team guys knew who she was.
There was no way he was letting her go. He was definitely an “if I can't have her, no one can” kind of guy.
This was it.
This was how she was going to die.
Moments away from rescue.
Ironically enough, if she’d just stayed in that shipping container, she would have lived. The guys would have found her, they would have captured Terry Richards or at least killed him before he could take her out with him. In attempting to save herself, she’d signed her own death warrant.
“Touch her, and you die the most agonizingly painful and excruciating slow death I can give you, Richards,” Blade’s voice screamed.
She could hear everything she needed in it. His fury at the man who had abducted her, his fear for her, his panic at not being able to stop her death from happening, and his growing feelings for her.
At least if she was about to die, she’d gotten this, the love of another person, someone who didn't judge her for what she’d done, and just accepted her for her. She could take her final breath knowing that she mattered to someone and that she’d be missed.