The Black Rose

After carrying Landon up the stairs so Mia could stitch his punctured leg, Damien and I assessed the situation downstairs.

I pulled out my extra gun and ammo, passing it along to Damien on the kitchen counter. He loaded the third gun and placed it under the couch.

“You really think this will work?” he asked me again, somehow the animosity subsided.

“There’s only one way to find out,” I grinned.

I glanced at the iPad on the counter, which was trained on the building’s entrance. The death squad should be arriving any minute.

’I’m addicted too,” Damien uttered.

I turned to him, the expression on his face softened. “That’s why I had some on me and how I knew you were also.”

I remained silent, not sure what to say. Part of me wondered.

“Miriam knew about Landon,” he continued. “I am…was like a son to her. She gave me a certain amount of grace and as long as I didn’t mess up, she wouldn’t touch him.”

“Wow,” I muttered. “So, me calling to confess your sins wasn’t even a big surprise.”

“No, the surprise is she didn’t hesitate to have me killed,” Damien poked.

I scoffed. Killing was easy. I could tell Miriam and I were cut from the same cloth.

“There,” I motioned to the screen.

Six men marched into the building and approached the desk. The front one looked like a neanderthal. They stopped to talk with Ryan and we watched as the giant whipped out a gun with sickening speed and fired a bullet through Ryan’s forehead. Blood sprayed against the back wall.

“Well, that was uncalled for,” I mumbled.

Damien and I exchanged a glance. The six men bypassed the door to the elevator and made their way up. I recognized Adam’s face.

“Save that one for me,” I pointed to his young, smug grin.

“I can’t make any promises,” Damien spat as he lowered himself in the pool of Landon’s blood.

“Think you can handle playing dead and fighting?” I grinned, pointing to his wrist.

Damien rolled his eyes, “I’ll manage.”

Damien lowered his head to the ground, closing his eyes, slowing his breathing down. I sat on the stool, waiting patiently for my door to open and six-armed to the teeth men to waltz in. I grabbed my iPad and opened Fruit Ninja. I sliced fruit after fruit until I heard my door open.

“Well, hello boys,” I sang, slicing fruit like a boss. “Have you ever played this game?” I toyed. “So addicting,” I grinned maniacally setting the iPad down.

“Miriam sent us,” the largest male barked, ignoring my small talk.

“Whoa,” I drawled pointing to my throat. “Giants can speak,” I toyed. One of the males stepped forward to Damien, the ogre ignoring my wit.

The leader snapped his fingers for the front two men to go and check. Guns trained ahead they stepped gingerly on the lower step. My eyes flit to the third male, who was lowering to check Damien’s vitals. Just as his fingers hit Damien’s carotid, he lunged, burying a knife through his neck. That was my cue.

I fired two quick shots up the steps. Targets four and five tumbled backwards down the stairs. The massive ogre whipped out his gun, but not before I landed a kick to his wrist. The gun sailed out of his hand, crashing to the floor.

I waved my finger back and forth, taunting. “Fists only.”

He clenched his teeth in satisfaction. I might regret this.

My back against the island, I flipped backward over the counter, landing daintily on the other side. I grabbed the carbon fiber blade from my side and chucked it in his direction. He cowered as the knife sailed over his head lodging into the far wall. He was fast, too fast.

I lunged, my foot connecting to his thigh. It didn’t break. The giant and I danced, our hands moving in tight formation, neither one of us landing a punch. No human could move this fast. He hit like a wrecking ball. With every swing, I was being pushed closer and closer to the wall of windows. I ducked as his boulder sized fist swung shattering the inch-thick glass behind me like it was paper. As I ducked to avoid the glass shards, pain lanced my side. My body flew like a rag doll, careening into the island counter. I could feel my ribs cave with the enormous pressure. Adrenaline surged through my veins, masking the pain. No one had broken a bone in my body since enhanced. A new wave of rage overwhelmed me.

I stood. Regaining my composure, I charged. Sliding under his arm at the last second, I snagged a thick shard of glass, and sliced clean. The beast faltered, blood streaming from his calf. The thick glass in my hand covered in red. He glanced down at his leg then back at me. He charged, but I darted behind the couch, landing a kick to Adam’s back.

Adam fell towards Damien just as he brought the knife tip to his forehead. The knife slid through like butter. Damien and I exchanged a quick bloodied grin. Turning, I glared at ogre across the couch. He found his gun.

Without thinking, I lurched forward, hoping by some miracle I could reach him before fired.

Bang.

The sound of a bullet ricocheted against the high walls, as a burning sensation spread across my chest. I hit the beast full force. He fell backwards, careening into the granite island. At the same moment, I raised my arms and with lightning precision, brought the tip of the glass straight through his eye socket. The giant wailed as I jumped off of him to avoid his sailing fists. I turned to see Damien snap the neck of the remaining assailant. I didn’t have much time to celebrate. Even with a shard of glass as an eyeball now, the beast riled towards me. I ducked and dodged his deadly blows. I knew I wasn’t going to win this on strength alone. Gun in hand, Damien sent a bullet in his direction. It pierced his shoulder but he didn’t stop. He rounded this time on Damien. Even with one eye and a sliced calf he was fast. Damien was no match, especially with one good wrist. Damien ducked and dodged, everything he could to avoid being hit.

With him distracted, I lurched forward. Grabbing my knife from the wall, I turned and let it fly. The carbon fiber blade hit with perfect precision. The leader’s knees caved, as life drained from his massive corpse. Damien’s eyes widened. He couldn’t see the six-inch blade buried deep in the back of the giant’s skull. With a sickening thud he fell to the ground, blood oozing from his eye socket, head, and calf.

Damien and I exchanged a glance, neither one of us wanting to admit we needed each other.

“We need to go,” Damien spoke.

I nodded, just as Mia slid the door open upstairs. She glared down at me with a worried expression. “We need to go,” I panted, realizing just how hard it was to breathe with broken ribs.

I moved to the sink to clean my arms, face, and neck as Damien assisted Mia in helping Landon down the stairs. We didn’t have much time. It was clear my father wanted me dead, or had less power than I thought. Either way, Miriam would want proof or a status report at any moment, and we killed her only proof.

“Are you okay?” Mia exclaimed with a worried expression as she made her way to me, her eyes glancing at my shoulder where the bullet had entered.

“I’ll be okay,” I muttered defiantly. “We need to get moving.”

Damien and I ushered them to the front door, but I paused as I got to the giant heap blocking the hall. The rage swelled. I bent low dabbing my finger in his blood and on the wood floors I wrote, “I’m coming.”

I wiped my hands, strode the hall one last time, and closed the door.

Grabbing two bags, Damien handed me the gun as we waited in stewed silence for the elevator to open. I looked at Mia, fear oozed from her pores. The pain in my shoulder and side increased by the second, but I had to concentrate on getting us out of here. The elevator door dinged open. Thankfully, the elevator was empty. I hoped it stayed that way.

As we fell floor by floor, I couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of facing two more of those ogres. If they had sent two of them, Damien and I might be the ones lying on the floor right now.

The elevator door dinged, and I raised my stinging arm to lift the gun ahead. No one was there. We advanced slowly car by car, eyes peeled, until we found Mo’s station wagon.

“I’ll drive,” Damien sputtered. “Mia should look at your arm.” I wanted to protest, to not show weakness, but I could feel the blood dripping from my body.

I slung the bags into the trunk and Mia handed Damien the keys. Landon took the passenger seat and Mia and I in the back.

“Where to?” Damien stared back.

“Just start heading north to Oregon,” I answered. “Not ready to give him the exact coordinates just yet.”

Damien put the car in reverse, and we backed out of the garage and into the city streets.

“Here, put pressure on it,” Mia broke the silence, handing me a rolled-up shirt. I took it, our hands grazing. The shockwave hit me like a love bullet to the heart.

With only the faint car lights, Mia rummaged through the bag, pulling out the surgical kit and other medical paraphernalia.

“We need to pull over,” she voiced worriedly more to the front of the car than to me.

“No, we can’t stop. Not yet,” I responded.

Damien glanced at me from the rear-view mirror. “Alex is right,” he conceded. “We need to get much further away. California isn’t safe.”

Damien looked to Landon who was a ball of flaming silence. What a team we were.

Damien took the leap and reached for Landon’s hand, but he pulled it away decisively.

“Then let me look at it,” Mia sighed exasperatedly. I bet she wasn’t used to taking orders.

“It’s okay,” I muttered stubbornly. “I can wait. It’s not that bad.” I was lying through my perfectly straight teeth. It hurt like a son of a bitch along with my ribs.

“Fine,” Mia soured crossing her arms, “But keep pressure on it, and can we please stop as soon as we are out of California.”

Damien nodded but I soon found myself too weak to respond.

I lay my head against the cool window and watched as the white lines blurred by in endless miles. I wondered if Nadine had gotten out? Would she be at the safe house? Nadine, I feared, was the key to all this. I hated to admit if she failed to retrieve Dr. Swartz, this dark hole would become even darker. Without Nadine, our plan seemed dismal. Nadine was a sense of comfort, of familiarity. I understood her monsters, I understood her.

My eyes drifted closed, I fought to keep them open. Why was I so tired? I knew why. The blood from my not so okay shoulder had made it through the shirt. I was bleeding out...

“Alex?” a faint voice rose. “Alex, wake up.”

“I can’t!” I wanted to scream, but nothing came out. I faded, dropping into the well of blackness. I was falling, falling, it never seemed to end. Was this death? A constant free fall.

“Alex,” a voice whispered. That wasn’t Mia.

“Alex, it’s okay,” a familiar voice echoed.

“Annie?” I called out. “Where are you?”

“I’m right here,” her voice broke. I twirled in the darkness, frantic to see her face.

“I don’t see you!” I called.

“I’m right here,” her voice echoed back.

“Annie!” I screamed.

“I’m right here,” it echoed.

“Annie,” I wailed, slow sobs bursting from my lips. “I’m so sorry,” I shrieked. I couldn’t keep it in any longer. The tears streamed like rushing waterfalls. I felt as if a dam had been broken inside and every drop of water I had reserved from years and years of silencing pain with anger was now gushing through the slight break at once.

“I’m so sorry,” was all I could stomach.

“I’m right here,” the voice echoed over and over, but she wasn’t. This was my punishment, my hell.