Chapter 21 #5
“Sheik,” Elias called out again. “Again, I ask. What are you doing ?”
“He knows.” Maverick mouthed and gestured for Taz to check the door again. We need to get the fuck out of here! My heart was hammering and I was so terrified that I had actually been concerned I'd pass out in the middle of trying to escape.
“Ah, yes, thank you…” Elias’s voice addressed someone else on the other end before he spoke to James one last time.
“Someone special has arrived, and I’ll be releasing them soon.
Run, run as fast as you can, little beast. Your time of rule has come to an end, for you and all your friends. ” The line cut out.
James looked up at the others and shouted, “Run!”
At the door, Taz threw his body against it, sending it flying open, grabbing Rebecca’s hand, and sprinted out into the night.
Everyone followed, and despite how scared I knew we were all feeling, not one of the girls screamed.
I raced up after Vail, slipping on the steps only once before we broke free into the middle of a wide concrete quay running along the wooden docks.
I peered around, noting the warehouses lined up facing the river, and the space surrounded by a chain-link fence with barbed wire looping the tops.
The docks stretched along the riverbank, and there were numerous small shipping vessels lined up on the St. Lawrence, their transporter boats docked for supplies.
Vail tugged on my hand, taking off to the right after Taz and the others, and I followed, with Lee and Shaw close behind. I peeked back to see Maverick practically on our heels, with James and Gavin following.
BOOM!
The ground shook so violently that the water rippled and sloshed, the air around us burned as if on fire, the vibration had my knees buckling, and we all fell.
I hit the pavement as a rush of hot air burned at my back, and instinctively covered my head with my arms. Several girls screamed, and before I could gather myself, another explosion went off.
BOOM!
This one burned hotter, the rush of heat flowing over us had more force, and debris falling everywhere…
bits of wood, metal, and dirt sprayed through the air, and ahead of me, I heard someone scream.
I looked up and saw Rebecca curled up on the ground, a jagged piece of metal sticking out of the side of her stomach.
Holy… fucking… shit!
“Get up, kids! Get up!” Maverick shouted, recovering first. He rolled towards us, grabbing Shaw and Lee by the backs of their shirts, and pulled them up off the ground while James moved to help Vail and me.
“Where are we running to?” I cried, desperately looking around for the others.
Some of the girls got up, but others remained where they were lying.
One girl, who had been held in the furthest cell from me, had a sizable chunk of concrete gouged into the back of her head, and she was motionless.
Two others had larger pieces of piping going right through their backs into the earth, and another had been entirely cutin half by a piece of sheet metal that had impaled her across the chest. I gagged hard, while one girl actually heaved onto the ground.
One of the Spades was gone, too… a burning piece of what looked like a wooden beam crushing him completely.
“The fence line! Stay by the river but get to the fence line!” Maverick shouted, pushing the boys forward. James gave Vail a small shove but kept me directly in front of him, urging us to keep moving. “We’ll cut through it and meet with Scotty. Where’s Taz?”
Taz was trying to help Rebecca, holding her hands aloft to keep her from pulling the offending intrusion out while yelling, “You’ll bleed to death, girl! Wait until we’re on the boat, and I can get a better look at it! Once we’re across the river, we’ll be getting medical attention, so-”
A shot rang out, and at once, the bikers pushed the girls down. James hauled me to the ground with him, using his body as a shield.
“Fucking Jeremy!” Maverick hissed from where he was doing his best to protect both Shaw and Lee.
“Exploding slugs…” He started to shimmy to the side, towards the fourth warehouse, urging us all to follow.
As we did, I turned back and saw that two of the warehouses furthest from us had wholly gone up in flames, and were slowly making their way in our direction.
I saw the black silhouettes of the Faceless.
Amongst them, an absolute beast of a man, one to rival both Animal and Lee, was shooting a 12ga shotgun at any barrier he came across, as though hoping to find us hiding behind one.
I couldn’t make out the details of his face, not with the bright flames burning behind him, but I knew that this was the biker everyone had been talking about.
“We need to slow them down so the girls can get out,” Maverick panted, pressing against the corrugated metal wall.
The survivors had gathered behind several barrel drums, and we listened to his plan, as death moved slowly in our direction.
He looked to Vail, “If something happens to Taz, you and your boys need to head south along the embankment. Look for a white and blue Viking ‘68 convertible yacht.” At this, Shaw pulled out his phone and started typing. “Ask for Scotty. Tell him you’re Vendetta and Maverick sent you. If he asks where the fuck we all are…” At this, he glanced at James, who nodded back at him, as though they both understood something we were all missing.
“Tell him there was a Joker in the Deck.”
I raised my brows, confused. What the hell does that mean?
I was about to ask when, in the distance, there was another loud blast from the shotgun, followed by a skin-crawling, insane laugh that rang out across the shoreline and docks.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they heard it across the St. Lawrence into the States.
When I looked back, Shaw was showing everyone a photo of what boat we were looking for, but I was watching the bikers.
I didn’t like the looks on their faces… a sort of grim, tense yet determined expression on each and every one.
“James?” I asked, reaching for him.
He peered over at me, reaching up to hold my face in his palms and staring into my face.
He was eerily calm, and it was unsettling as hell, given that what looked like fifty men armed with guns, and a psychopathic murderer, were closing in about a hundred feet away.
James pulled me in for a hug and murmured, “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you, Baby Girl.
” I didn’t know what else to do other than hug him back.
When I did, I felt him pressing a kiss to the top of my head, and he said, “You keep being happy, alright?”
Someone tugged at the back of my shirt. “We gotta go.” Lee.
James released me, pushing me to the guys, and turned to his men, reaching inside his leather jacket and withdrew two sleek black handguns. All around us, the Spades and other Beasts were taking out their weapons.
“No, Taz. You help them get the girls out,” Maverick said when Taz started to hand Rebecca off to someone.
“I’m not leaving you guys behind!” Taz looked absolutely pissed at this, his heavily scarred mouth contorted in a pained expression.
“I need a Spade to go with them in case Scotty doesn’t show.
They need someone to get them away. I need you to do this, alright?
” Maverick paused as Jeremy let off another shot, and we all heard something shatter apart.
The worst part was how much closer it was.
Too fucking close. We have to go now! “Once the girls are in safe hands, you take Casey and Vendetta to Florida…”
“Florida?”
“Look for Chase.”
“Chase M-”
“Yes, him. Now fucking go. We’ll hold them off!”
We all shuffled down the wall, but the further away we got from where the bikers were gathered behind the drums, the more we opened ourselves up to exposure. The flames grew brighter, turning the sky an almost darker, burnt orange as the fires reflected off the clouds and the water below.
We were so close to the corner of the building where we could hopefully hide.
The men were closing in, and just as one appeared in the distance, breaking the vantage point concealing us, the Celtic Beasts and the Black Spades threw themselves out from behind their hiding spots, and started firing shots off in unison.
The Faceless scattered, ducking behind construction equipment, stacked pallets, small cranes, or dry docked boats.
When they did, Taz made a break for the fence, carrying Rebecca in his arms. I ran with the girls, with Vail, Lee, and Shaw bringing up the rear.
I turned back to see several bikers had already fallen, but when we reached the fence and Taz began to yank, ripping and tugging at the bottom of the chainlink, I looked back just as I saw one of the Faceless get several shots off, knocking Maverick down.
Vail saw it, too, and I heard a choking sort of groan breaking past his lips.
He took a step back, like he was about to run over there, but somehow managed to remain with us.
I could see the agony and struggle written all over his face, his hands shaking as he watched Maverick crawl to the side behind a pile of junk, using it for cover.
I reached out and gripped one of Vail’s trembling hands, and we watched, feeling utterly helpless as we could do nothing but watch.
James ran over, managing to reach him unscathed.
He looked as helpless as we felt watching as he scanned over the wounds on the Spade before he bowed his head over him, talking softly.
Maverick’s lips moved for just a few seconds, his body twitching, hands shaking, before he gave a small shake and stilled… gone.