Gavin #2
I pull another knife from the cargo pocket of my pants.
I’m not happy that I dropped my favorite one but something told me to bring a spare.
A gun would be easier but the one I had was taken from me when I was originally captured.
I lash out, swiping the blade across any enemy standing between the boys and me, without a single thought of the consequences.
I will get to them or die trying. Red fills my vision.
I don’t know if it's rage or blood at this point and I don’t really care.
The sound of Atlas yelling something snaps my head to the left.
I turn in that direction just as one of Vin’s men comes in front of me, blocking my path.
Concealing my knife behind my back, I pretend to be scared, hoping the caveman in front of me will doubt my capabilities.
Instead of drawing the weapon strapped to his side, he lunges for me.
His mistake, but it works in my favor. I drop to the ground, slashing my knife across both of his Achilles tendons.
The man drops instantly, trying to stop the flow of blood pouring from him.
I try to scramble back onto my feet, but hands wrap around my ankles, pulling me back.
I kick out, connecting with something solid behind me.
I hear a groan, but the person doesn't give up.
Arms wrap around my waist, flipping me over to face whoever's behind me. My grip tightens on my knife, swinging my arm in an arc, stopping just before the blade connects. My eyes widen with panic when I see the person holding me is dressed in tactical gear. A giant gloved hand grips my chin, squeezing my cheeks together until they hurt. I can’t tell who it is through the mask.
They use their hold to pull me eye level with them.
My eyes connect with pissed-off green ones that I recognize and can place.
“What are you doing?” The voice somehow remains calm even with everything going on around us.
Shit, I know that voice belongs to Ramos. I might have only heard it today but the rasp behind it is so distinct that it’s hard to forget.
“I'm not leaving without the boys.”
“Well, too damn bad. I made Atlas a promise. I'm not going to let you be the reason I break that promise.” He raises his gun, shooting someone behind me before returning his attention to me.
I thrash against his hold anyway. I can’t lose Atlas and Gavin. “Fuck you, I'm not leaving!”
“The only way we can all make it out of this is if you follow orders. If you stay, they can't focus on getting out.” He pulls me to my feet, forcing me in the opposite direction of my two men.
“Fine! But if you let them die, you've dug your own grave, Ramos!”
The asshole laughs at my outburst, the smile reaching his eyes. “I'll hold you to it. Now go!”
Two more people dressed in full tactical gear approach us, ushering me to follow.
The taller and bulkier of the two takes the lead, then me, then the short one closes up the rear.
We race down the hallway away from the direction I entered the compound from.
If I had to guess, we are heading towards the south exit.
Pounding footsteps ahead bring us to a halt.
The man in front hands me his sidearm while drawing his rifle.
We press forward slowly, sweeping each corridor that we pass.
Two men round the corner towards us. I pull the trigger without hesitation, dropping one of them while the man behind me kills the other.
We continue the same way. Moving in silence while taking turns shooting anyone blocking off our path until we make it out of the building, where I'm ushered into the back of an SUV that's supposed to take us to a meetup spot a mile up the road.
I climb inside first, both men climbing in after me, none of us wanting to break the silence.
A sharp throb begins to radiate in my side as my adrenaline wears off.
The closer we get to the rendezvous point, the more intense the pain becomes.
A searing burning sensation soon follows.
I try to fight it, telling myself that I simply overexerted my energy.
I continue to ignore it, trying to focus on my surroundings as a distraction.
It’s not long before the SUV turns down a dirt road; each hole we hit on the bumpy terrain jostles my body in a way that amplifies the pain I'm in.
I remain silent the entire time, trying to focus on breathing through the pain. My mind keeps drifting to Gavin and Atlas. It’s killing me not knowing how they are or if they made it out alive.
The SUV comes to a halt. I stagger out of the back with only one thing on my mind- finding out that the boys made it.
There are three other SUVs are stationed around what looks like a makeshift medical tent.
My body sways and black spots float in my vision, but none of that matters when I see Gavin and Atlas climbing out of another vehicle.
I forced my body into a sprint, running as fast as I can to them.
I collide with them as we all yelp in pain.
I wrap my arms around both of them and hug them as best I can.
Both of them kiss my head as I break down in tears.
“I'm so glad y'all are okay,” the last word coming out as a hiccup.
“Of course we are,” Gavin mumbles into my hair.
“We couldn't leave you, Chaos,” Atlas whispers against my ear.
We finally break apart, turning to Ramos and the other two people with him. “Thanks for getting her out, Ramos.”
“I can't take all the credit; my brother and the boss did the actual hard work.”
The two people behind Ramos remove their masks, and it's as if the entire world takes a breath.
“Hey, I'm Ramos’ brother, Xeno Santiago, and the boss, or I guess you can say my partner in crime, is Natali Delgado, the leader of the Delgado crime family.”
My lips move to properly introduce myself but the words die on my lips as everything goes black.
Gavin
Maizyn goes pale before her knees buckle.
I grab her hips in time to stop her from wobbling, thinking it’s a side effect of an adrenaline rush.
My heart beat skips out of my chest as her eyes begin to roll back in her head.
I don’t react fast enough, her upper body bending forward at an awkward angle.
Atlas catches her upper body as she goes completely limp. “No, no, no, what's happening?”
“Take a breath and lay her flat on her back.” Natali takes command of the situation. Yelling orders for medical supplies as Atlas and I gently set Maizyn on the ground. Atlas holds her head in his hands to keep it off the gravel.
“Check her pulse.” Attempting to follow Natali’s instructions, I fumble, trying to feel for it, but my hands are shaking too much.
“Hey, let me do it. I got it.” Natali moves my hands out of the way, checking her radial pulse.
The silence feels heavy as I wait for an update.
“We have a heartbeat, but it's faint. We have to move quickly. There is so much blood covering her. Did anyone check to see if any of it was actually hers?”
“No, I didn't even think to check. She was acting fine.” I look to Atlas. His voice sounds completely disconnected from the scene unfolding around us. Tears stream down his face, but he otherwise looks emotionless. I've never seen him like this, and it only amplifies my fear more.
“I need to cut off her vest. Hand me that pair of fabric shears. Xeno hands her the shears, assisting her with removing the bulletproof vest from Maizyn’s body.
“Shit. She has a bullet wound and is losing a lot of blood. There is a bullet hole through the side of her plates. She was probably hit on an angle.” Xeno’s voice sounds clinical as Natali begins fumbling through a medical bag.
A rolled-up blanket is placed under Maizyn’s head before they begin cutting her shirt away from the injury.
More and more blood begins pooling underneath her.