Chapter 24 #2
The lock clicks, Jett gives it a good tug to make sure it’s secure and then leads Greer’s limp body away.
The lights flicker out and I drop my head back against the cool structure.
Kova blows roughly through her nostrils and sinks to the floor.
I roll my head over, watching her eye me with a different type of suspicion.
“We’re not so different, are we?” I whisper.
But she only blinks. “I have a feeling I just cost us our breakfast.” I wince, closing my eyes, my stomach growling beneath my thin layers. “But it was worth it.”
The entire day goes by without another visitor.
No breakfast, as I predicted. My body aches— if it’s not them who kills me, hunger and dehydration will.
My mouth is so dry that the stagnant air around me seems to hold more moisture than I do.
The only liquid available being the blood from my split lip.
The warehouse sits eerily quiet and empty.
Not even the moon makes an appearance tonight.
A part of me is thankful for it but another part is anxious, pondering where my captors are at and if they are planning my impending doom.
Kova has been silent herself, her beady eyes still glued to me from what I can make out of my half-swollen eyes.
I flex my hands, flakes of dried blood floating from them to the floor.
I use my sleeve and scrub off my nose, the fabric feeling like sandpaper against the caked wound.
I tenderly press against the puffy flesh; it’s not broken but it definitely isn’t pretty either.
I try to twist my nose ring and wince as a sharp twinge sears through my nostril.
Not budging. I rest my head against the bars and close my eyes.
A sound suddenly breaks into my ears before the footsteps do. Metal scraping against concrete. A slow dragging noise. My eyes snap open as Kova lifts her head immediately, her sharp canines already exposing themselves before the first B.A.I.T member steps around the corner.
Every muscle in her body goes rigid as a low growl rumbles through her chest. It raises the hair on my arms in a way it hasn’t before.
The sound only comes closer as one man after another approaches.
Six total. The last two members step into the light.
Not a flicker of emotion on their faces.
My pulse stumbles as my gaze lowers to their hands.
Dozens of feet of thick steel scrape behind them, dragging across the floor like a living thing.
Rust flakes scatter in their wake. Some are coiled around forearms as the remaining trail across the ground in tangled heaps.
Every movement sends another chorus rattling through the warehouse.
The longest chain disappears behind one man’s boots, ending in a collar so thick it looks more suited for a large animal than a human neck.
Heavy steel rings surface. Eight of them, if I’m counting correctly.
Every chain has a purpose. Every chain has a place to connect.
And every one of them is coming toward me.
One of them men withdraws a key from his pocket and pauses at the entrance. His expression is unreadable, as if he’s questioning whether opening this door is worth the risk.
I curl my fingers around the bars. “What?” I ask. My voice comes out rough, but firm.
No one answers. The men only exchange glances. One of them shoulders to the front, lifting a thick black taser, shaking it tauntingly as if it were a new toy.
I laugh. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Six of you and a taser?”
As soon as the word leaves my mouth, a second taser snaps into view.
Thunk. Thunk. Twin probes punch through the bars and bury themselves in my chest. I scream as agony detonates beneath my skin.
Every muscle in my body seizes at once. My lungs forget how to breathe.
White-hot static swallows my vision as thousands of volts tear through my nerves, wrenching a strangled gasp from my throat.
I lock my knees, clenching my fists. My bare foot grinds into the concrete as I force myself upright, jaw clenching so hard I swear my teeth are cracking.
The current rips through me mercilessly, but I refuse to give them the satisfaction of watching me collapse.
My arms tremor violently as my fingers fumble for the wires jutting from my chest. I wrap both hands around them, grit my teeth, and rip.
Pain flares hot beneath my ribs as the barbs violently tear free.
I stagger half a step, sucking in a full breath. “Now you’ve just pissed me off.”
The cage door groans as it swings inward and I take a step back, readying myself for the fight. Kova’s on her feet, pacing anxiously on the other side. My pulse pounds in my ears as shake what I can of the pain away and crouch in position.
The rusted metal bucket in the corner suddenly catches my eye.
Perfect. I explode toward it before the first man can close the distance.
My fingers hook beneath the corroded handle and I don’t waste as second as I whirl on the heel of my boot, slinging the contents in a wide arc.
Stale urine sprays through the air in a nauseating sheet.
“What the?—”
Shouts erupt as the liquid splashes across uniforms, faces, and the taser in hand. Several instinctively recoil, throwing up their arms. One stumbles backward, gagging. Another curses as the foul stench fills the cell. But it doesn’t deter their leader.
The first man reaches for me. His forest-green B.A.I.T uniform is faded in places, the fabric worn nearly gray along the seams. Small tears fray the knees and elbows.
Years of service stare back at me from every stitch.
Which tells me why he’s first in line; this isn’t some fresh recruit thrown into the deep end.
I lunge forward before his rear boot even leaves the frame. My fist crashes into his jaw so forcefully I throw myself off balance. Bone meets bone with a sickening crack that sings a small victory in my ears. The man’s head snaps sideways, and blood sprays across the concrete.
The second man swears as the third pushes past him with the other taser in hand. I drive forward before either can reach me. If they’re stupid enough to step inside this cage, I’m going to make each and every one of them regret it.
The first man groans from the floor to the side as I slide between the third’s open legs.
I instantly pop back onto my feet and slam my shoulder into the second, grabbing onto his collar and sling him.
The force sends him into the bars hard enough to shake the entire cage.
Metal instantly screams around us as he drops the taser in shock.
Kova explodes against her own enclosure. Her saliva flies as she rapidly bites the steel bars.
I twist and drive an elbow backward blindly as the second man latches onto my arm. Cartilage crunches. The sound is barely audible in my ear over the shouting and barking. The other three outside the cage move at once. My heartbeat stumbles as I hear the chains drag closer across the floor.
“Grab her legs!”
“Restrain her arms!”
The cage erupts into chaos. I can’t calculate movements anymore as I begin swinging ferally.
Punching and scratching at the reaching arms. A body slams into my side, staggering me slightly.
I force myself to stay upright, trying my best to keep balance between one bare foot and the other still tied loosely in my hiking boot.
A hand finally closes around my wrist. I rip free, whirling my head around to hiss at the B.A.I.T member.
Another grabs a fistful of my shirt, tearing the fabric clean as I twist away donkey-kicking the men behind me.
Someone catches my shoulder as the five begin to rush me all together. No. I throw my head backward with a war cry. My skull collides with a nose, sending a blinding pain down my spine, but I persist. The man’s grip disappears just as quickly as it latched on.
“Jesus!”
“Get her down! Now!”
The cage rattles violently around us. Kova launches herself against the bars, a screeching bark erupting from her throat. The sound explodes through the warehouse, and for a second, everyone freezes. Including me. The wolf’s snarls tear through every nerve in my body, causing me to hesitate.
The men react instantly, rushing me again. One dives for my legs. I meet him with my knee up and awaiting, catching him right in the jaw. He crashes backward, falling over the empty bucket.
Another reaches for my throat. Pure instinct takes over as I seize his wrist and twist. The pop echoes through the cage. He screams, clutching his shoulder, and staggers away. Good.
The world narrows as I repeat the words in my head: Pain. Movement. Create Chaos. Keep moving. Survive.
A boot catches my ribs and white-hot agony explodes through my side, stealing the breath from my lungs.
A mistake. The opening lasts less than a second, but it’s enough.
Three men hit me simultaneously, driving me straight back into the concrete wall.
Debris falls from the sealing from the impact.
It floats slowly down, swirling along with the colorful spots bouncing in my vision.
Hands grab my arms. My shoulders. My waist. My hair.
Every direction at once. I fight anyway.