Chapter Nineteen. #2
“There’s a trash can!” Viking bellowed. His three inches on me clearly gave him a line of sight I couldn’t see.
Seconds later, the trash can loomed as my bike ate up the distance.
Slender hands appeared, covered in blood, and Amy crawled over the side.
She landed wrong and cried out in pain. Amy peered upwards, and I followed her gaze.
There was a guy who looked positively murderous above her.
Amy didn’t look and ran as he stepped back and jumped too.
We were so close now; I don’t know how Amy didn’t hear the bikes, but she didn’t.
Without looking, Amy ran straight into the road in front of me.
Immediately, I laid my bike down to avoid hitting her.
My leathers ate up the damage, but I was still winded.
Amy
Suddenly, I heard the Harleys and hoped the Unwanted Bastards had come.
Instead, I saw three men I didn’t recognise.
This happened in a split second as I realised I was smack bang in the lead biker’s path.
He went down hard, and a roar erupted from the others.
One of them was fucking massive. Even more frightened, I took to my heels, not knowing whether they were friends or enemies.
“Amy!” someone roared, but I didn’t stop and kept going.
I’d no idea where I was and ran mindlessly.
Surrounding me were buildings and some houses, all deserted.
Had an apocalypse happened while I’d been drugged?
I darted around a corner and continued running, but much more slowly.
My ankle was swelling and throbbing, and each step sent a burning pain through me.
Footsteps pounded the ground, and I knew I was in danger.
I spotted an open door in a building and sprinted for it.
The door closed as the two bikers appeared.
“Amy!” one bellowed, looking around.
“Amy! Vortex sent us!” the second called.
Why would Vortex send them? That didn’t make sense. He’d have come himself to fetch me. No, I didn’t trust these strangers. They moved on, clearly searching. I waited until they’d disappeared and then slipped out. Now four men were hunting me. When had I become so fucking popular?
Warily and keeping low, I crept along the street, looking for any sign of life.
There was none. I shivered in the cold air and realised my feet were freezing.
Shit, I was barefoot, and I’d left my shoes back in the trash bin.
I started hurrying to a house when I spotted a hole in the ground.
Confused, I stopped and looked. There was literally a sinkhole in the road. Was I in Black Hawk?
I moved around it and headed for the houses.
Maybe one was open and had boots or slippers?
Hands grabbed me, and I screamed and began struggling.
Edwin! I fought against his grip even as I shrieked a second time.
Boots ran towards me, and Edwin was yanked away.
It was the guy whose bike had hit the ground.
“Leave her the fuck alone,” he growled and slammed a fist into Edwin. Edwin reeled back, pulled a gun, and shot the biker at point-blank range. He looked shocked and then fell backward.
“Onyx!” somebody bellowed, and a bullet whizzed past me.
Another biker ran towards us with his weapon drawn and aimed.
I raced off as Edwin did the same, in a different direction from me, ignoring the pain in my feet.
They were fixable; my death—not so much.
I ran around the back of a house and tried the back door handle.
Finding that locked, I moved on to the next and almost sobbed as it opened.
I shut it quietly and headed through the home, looking for a bedroom or closet.
Agony raced through me as I hobbled around and finally discovered a bedroom. Opening the wardrobes, I found shoes.
Spotting the adjoining bathroom, I headed there and began washing some of the crap from my soles. They were completely shredded. There was a cabinet, and I discovered some rolls of bandages inside.
I wrapped them around my feet, not too thickly, or I wouldn’t have got the snow boots on that I’d found. Once done, I looked for some pain relief and, grabbing a bottle, swallowed four. A noise close by made me freeze, and I nearly sobbed when Edwin appeared.
“Bitch, I should shoot you now!”
“Go away! I don’t know what’s happening or who’s hunting us, but please leave me alone!” I cried.
“No. Your death is going to be beautiful,” Edwin crowed and began dragging me out.
As I struggled, I glanced at the floor. Well, that answered how he’d found me.
I’d left bloody footprints leading him straight here.
Edwin dragged me outside and around a corner.
In front of us was a massive sinkhole, and my eyes widened.
Edwin was trying to skirt past it, but I kept fighting and making things difficult.
In frustration, he jammed the gun against my head.
There was no doubt that he’d pull the trigger.
A shout distracted Edwin, and I elbowed him in the stomach hard. Edwin gasped and loosened his grip, and I started to run. A hand gripped me, and I shoved Edwin. In temper, he pushed back, and I stumbled. My foot stepped into thin air, and my hands scrabbled for support.
I caught Edwin’s out-flung arm as he aimed the gun, and I dragged him off balance.
Together we tumbled down into the sinkhole.
Panicked, I let go of Edwin and grabbed hold of a pipe sticking out as Edwin fell screaming below.
He hit the ground hard as I tried to find something to stand on.
I was too far from the top, having fallen halfway, and I couldn’t reach it.
My feet scrabbled in thin air until they found a jut of earth.
“Amy! For fuck’s sake, don’t move!” a biker yelled, appearing. “Viking, we need some rope or something.”
Moments which turned into minutes ticked past as I stared at the man. Did I trust him? He held my gaze and spoke, but I wasn’t taking in what he was saying.
“Got this hose. That’s all there is,” a second biker stated. If this was Viking, he was aptly named with long blond hair containing thin plaits. Yup, definitely had the Viking vibe going on there.
“Amy, slide this over your head,” a third guy instructed, appearing, and I blinked. He was the one who’d been shot.
“I don’t know you,” I murmured.
“What did she say?” Viking demanded.
“Shut up. You’re frightening her,” the shot biker ordered.
“What? I’m scaring her? That bitch has balls of steel. Did you see what she did?” Viking replied.
“Let’s get Amy the hell out before she slides to the bottom? Ain’t telling Vortex his woman died on our watch,” Shot Biker said.
“Onyx, move out of the way, you’ve got a shoulder injury,” the brown-haired biker argued.
Shot Biker, aka Onyx, moved without argument.
“Amy, I’m Venom. I’m going to lower this fire hose. Honey, I’ve made a noose to fit over your body. Hook your arms over the top, Viking and I will pull you up.”
Dazed, I stared upwards and didn’t react. They’d mentioned Vortex. Were they friends or enemies?
“Shit, girl’s in shock,” Onyx muttered. The hose dropped beside me, and I gazed at it before looking down to where Edwin lay. Somehow, I felt safer right here. I sat down on the outcrop and pulled my knees tight to my chest. I’d wait here for Vortex.
Onyx
After a few minutes of calling Amy, we realised she wasn’t going to move. She couldn’t stay sat where she was, and we needed to get her up.
“Venom, you’re going to have to go down and fetch her,” I said.
“Why me?” Venom shot back.
“Wanna haul that fat ass up?” I demanded, pointing at Viking. The asshole grinned at Venom.
“Fuck my life,” Venom complained.
“Yeah, you’re so hard done by. Go fetch Amy. Vortex and the Unwanted Bastards are heading this way,” I stated.
“Why not wait for them?” Viking snapped.
“Wanna tell Venom why his old lady is down there and we’re up here?”
Viking shrugged. “Bro, I can handle Vortex.”
“Let’s just get Amy up,” I replied, tired of the arguing.
Viking growled, but Venom put the hose around his waist.
“Lower me down,” he said with a sigh.
Ignoring the hot pain shrieking through my shoulder, Viking and I lowered Venom until he reached where Amy was huddled up. If anything, Amy curled into a smaller ball. It was rather pitiful.
Amy
“Amy, look at me, honey. I’m Venom. Don’t give in now, you’ve been a fuckin’ fighter this whole time,” Venom said as he crouched below me.
“Go away,” I muttered.
“Only if you let me bring you up. Vortex is coming, and if he sees you down here, injured, he’ll freak the fuck out,” Venom replied.
“Do you really know him?”
“My MC is the Riders of Vengeance. Has Vortex mentioned us?”
Slowly, I racked my brains. Actually, I think Vortex had. “Silver City?”
“Yeah, that’s our base.”
“Okay.” I let Venom put the hose around me, but I couldn’t stand. The pain was too great. Finally, he figured out what was wrong and shouted up.
“Onyx, you’re going to have to pull us both up together. Amy can’t make it. Her feet are badly injured.”
There were clear complaints from above, especially about hauling Venom’s heavy ass, but slowly we inched upwards. As my head cleared the sinkhole, I screamed as I looked into the black barrel of a gun.