The Maddening
Book 2 in the Terror Saga
Nicholas Head
THE MADDENING - Book 2 in the Terror Saga
Copyright © 2021 Nicholas Head
All rights reserved.
ISBN 9798506551416
Cover Design by Deranged Doctor Design
Edited by Amanda Adgurson
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to real people or real places are used fictitiously. Character names, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book can be reproduced in any form by any means without the express permission of the author. This includes reprints, excerpts, photocopying, recording, or any future means of reproducing text.
Email: [email protected]
Web: https://nicholasbhead.com/
Amazon Kindle version is available
Published in the United States of America.
Created with Vellum
The Maddening
Book 2 in the Terror Saga
Nicholas Head
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Author’s Note
Also by Nicholas Head
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Nicholas B. Head
For Mandi, Graysen, Garrick, and Jayden
There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness
Friedrich Nietzsche
One
Colleen
A deadly game of hide-and-seek could always get Colleen’s blood pumping, but running for her life in a twelve-story building? Now, that was the very definition of a hair-stand-on-end exhilaration her body longed for. The two women—both dressed in dark clothing—slinked along the metal railing of the inky black stairwell. Colleen reached around the corner, slid her hand up the steel security door, and held her breath. At the slightest sound, the enemy would shoot, but they had to keep moving. After all, they were being hunted.
With a flick of her wrist, the springy handle silently released the door and they both exhaled in relief. Colleen peered through the inch-wide slit of the door. Even with shattered windows letting light in, it was still too dark to see anything save for blurry shadows. Colleen pushed the door open with the tips of her fingers and slipped through the crack—Marisha followed behind her.
Thunk!
Marisha misjudged her position, but it was too late. Her shoulder collided with the steel door; it hurdled into the wall before inevitably slamming shut. Colleen and Marisha hit the floor and patiently waited for the shooting to start, but nothing came. Colleen’s eyes darted around the dark room. Spotting a desk she crawled toward it—the musty polyester carpet felt like sandpaper against her skin. They balled themselves up under it and hid.
Colleen’s eyebrows scrunched together as she glared at her girlfriend. Anger radiated from every pore as she gritted her teeth together.
“I’m sorry, I—” Marisha attempted, but Colleen held up a finger to her lips, silencing her before pressing her ear to the back of the desk.
Marisha’s piercing green eyes stared straight ahead as she drew in tiny breaths, three at a time, desperate to stay quiet. Colleen gently placed her fingers against her trembling forearms, “We’re safe.”
A quick nod of understanding between the two, and they were back to darting in and out of cover. The deeper into the room, the darker it got. Finding the wall that would lead to the exit, they both skated along, hoping the darkness would be enough to conceal them. Marisha’s foot became tangled in the cord of a lamp. Colleen’s heart skipped, causing her body to freeze in place as the sound echoed through the seemingly vacant room.
She turned to Marisha who in a panic, tried to shake her leg free but only made things worse. Like an avalanche, it started slowly as a mass of chairs and IV poles fell to the floor. The crash would’ve been heard from anywhere, and Colleen knew they had to move and quickly. She grabbed Marisha, yanking her out of her frozen state of fear and pulling her through the open exit door. She slid the lock pin in place, they would be safe for a moment—the door would hold. It took every bit of her limited patience not to scream at her other half.
With her back to Marisha, she spat, “You’re gonna get us shot,” and pounded a fist against the concrete wall. A tinge of pain shot through the nerves of her hand and up her wrist. She shook them away before turning around. The room had enough natural light that she could make out every corner of the stairwell. It was almost too bright, causing her to squint until her eyes adjusted—the image of Marisha looking at the floor slowly came into focus.
“1,2,3,4,5,6,7…1,2,3,4,5,6,7” Marisha whispered under her breath, as she drummed her fingers against the nape of her neck. Colleen tilted her head, watching as her girlfriend repeated the motion over and over.
“Babe, you okay?” She asked.
Marisha’s head snapped up as if someone had pulled her out of a dream, “Yeah, I'm fine! Just… maybe still a bit in shock.”
Colleen nodded toward the steps to the landing, and the two fell into stride. The wind howled through the shattered windows as it whipped around the tall building, playing an ominous concerto.
“Are you sure that you’re fine? You better not be lying to me. I need my robin if we’re going to make it out of here,” Colleen said in between ragged breaths as they ascended the stairs to the next level. When Marisha didn’t answer, she stopped mid-step and looked back, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She watched as Marisha swallowed hard and hesitantly nodded—it wasn’t much, but it was enough.
Upon reaching the next floor, Colleen tried to listen for anything or anyone who might be waiting on the other side of the door. After a few moments of silence, they counted to three and yanked it open. An icy chill spilled out from the room and the tiny hairs on Colleen’s neck stood on end. Someone was waiting for them.
They crouched down and hurried with their backs against the wall. The entire floor was entirely void of windows and pitch-black inside, save for the thin beams of light streaming through bullet holes that littered the walls of the building. They would have to navigate by touch. Colleen’s hand felt the metal edge of a doorway, and she stopped.
A hallway, maybe?
Marisha came in too fast, knocking her into the open doorway, leaving her a sitting duck. PING! The shot missed Colleen, just barely. Instead, it bounced off metal, ricocheting all over like a rubber ball. Marisha grabbed her by the shirt and yanked her back just in time before the second shot rang out and slammed into a nearby wall. The two piled into a small closet and shut the door.
That was close, too close.
“We’re trapped,” Colleen whispered.
“Shhhh,” Marisha said, “No panicking, right?”
Colleen raised her eyebrows and pressed her lips together. They were in a shallow utility closet, just enough room for the two of them.
“We have to find a way to flank them,” Colleen said, barely above a whisper, “The minute we put our head—”
“How?” Marisha said, her breaths in triplicate again.
Ping! Only Marisha flinched this time.
“Easy,” Colleen stooped down, cracked the door open, and pointed across the room, “You make a run for it and draw their attention over there. That shot came from the other exit across the room.”
“You want me to be BAIT! If I go out that door…I’m dead, and we’re both done for,” Marisha snapped.
“We have to flank them. There’s only two of them, so it’s even.” Colleen’s hand found the bowie knife strapped to her thigh.
“Even? They have a gun and we don’t. How is that even?”
Thunk! A cloud of dust wafted through the open crack of the closet door. Marisha reached over and pulled it shut again.
“I just need you to distract them by popping out a hand, a leg, your pretty head—” Colleen brushed the back of her fingers against Marisha’s cold cheek, “whatever is least important, every once in a while. Anything for a distraction.”
“Whatever,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“I’ll take the elevator shaft on the south side up to the next floor. Let me figure it out from there. Just don’t make yourself too visible, or they’ll wizen up to it.”
“Got it,” Marisha gave her a frazzled peck on the cheek. “Be careful and don’t get shot,” she said with a half-nervous smile. Her face softened as Colleen backed out the door.
Quickly sliding back down the long hallway, Colleen crouched down until she was sure the enemy couldn’t see her from the stairwell. Once in the clear, she shot up and ran along the wall, looking for the elevator door that should be ajar—at least she hoped it would be. If it wasn’t, their options would be severely limited.
A shot rang out far behind her. Their plan was working. A few more long strides and her hand found the elevator doors. They were open, but it was going to be a tight fit. She turned sideways, drew in a huge breath, and squeezed herself through. Once inside, she hoisted herself up through the emergency hatch on top; the cables creaked and groaned against her weight. She had to hurry.
Once on top of the elevator, Colleen breathed a sigh of relief—the door to the next floor was completely open. She took a running jump and grabbed onto the ledge of the next floor, then pulled herself up. Sliding into the hall on her belly, she glanced around to make sure it was clear. Another shot rang, but she was sure it was from the floor below.
Colleen squatted down and skimmed the north wall. If she was going to flank them, it had to be from the north and they couldn’t hear her coming. As she approached the stairwell, hushed voices—enemy voices—carried down the hall. She slowed down, carefully placing each step, hoping not to alert anyone lurking around the corner.
“That was pathetic! Where did you learn to shoot?” A woman’s voice yelled out. Colleen immediately recognized it to be Marisha’s.
Oh, my God. Is she taunting them now? That was not our plan. At least she’s keeping them preoccupied, I guess.
“My girlfriend can shoot better than you,” Colleen heard her yell, “And that goes for when she was blind too. Your parents would be so embarrassed if they saw your aim.”
On second thought, it’s kind of cute when she gets feisty.
Colleen inched closer and closer to the stairwell, keeping herself prepared for anything. If she was correct, the shooter would be at the bottom of the stairs, hurling shots from the comfort of cover. But where was the lookout?
Colleen stooped low and peeked around the corner, just long enough to spot feet facing her. A plan formed in her head: if she performed it flawlessly, they would leave with their lives. Reaching down into her pocket, she grabbed a few small pebbles. She took two and tossed them over the stairwell wall, providing just enough of a distraction. She powered around the corner, slamming into the lookout before they had a chance to react.
Her shoulder collided with the lookout’s chest, knocking the wind out from the woman’s lungs, and tossing her back into the landing. Without hesitation, she sprinted down the bottom stairs and did the same to the shooter before they could even tell what hit them. The shooter had just enough time to mitigate the impact as Colleen splayed out on the ground. Their weapon went flying behind them and skid across the concrete floor. As they turned to grab for it, she ripped their legs out from under them; the shooter fell in a heap to the ground.
As the person on the landing tried to gather their breath, she used her powerful legs to climb up the shooter, each movement squeezing harder, digging into muscle. Colleen wrapped her legs around their waist as they tried to slap her away. It was best that they gave up. The situation was well within hand.
“Let go, Colleen! Dude, seriously, was that… really necessary?” the shooter cried, coughing and grabbing at their side. Colleen released her vice-like grip and got up, offering her hand to the other.
“It’s more fun this way,” she said.
“Yeah, for you it is, but any harder and you would have crushed bones,” the young man said.
“Don’t be so dramatic. I wasn’t squeezing that hard. Trust me, you’d know when I was. Maybe I’ll show you next time,” she stuck her tongue out at him.
The lookout hobbled down the stairs, still trying to get her breath. She inhaled deeply before trying to speak. “You know, Colleen,” she said, pausing for another breath, “I think that might be my last game of your sadistic hide-and-seek.”
“It’s far more than hide and seek. It’s training. It’s not my fault you don’t ever win,” Colleen brushed imaginary dust from her right shoulder, a confident smile spread firmly across her face.
The past few months in a stable environment had been good to her. Marisha had convinced her to cut her chestnut brown hair in what she called a pixie cut. Her intense blue-gray eyes were bright again and filled with curiosity. The thin pink lips that were once cracked from dehydration and hard from life on the road had regained their color and softness. With consistent meals from the onsite garden, her face was no longer sunken and dark, but rather full of life. Colleen hardly recognized herself when she caught her reflection in the mirror. She looked healthy for the first time in a long time, and it wasn’t her fault that she now had more energy than she could expend.
“It’s not like you had to pop your head out every ten seconds, hoping to not get hit in the head with a rock,” Marisha said, as she finally made her way to the group. Her eyes locked on Colleen, “I could’ve gotten brain damage, you know.”
“Get? Are you sure you aren’t already well on your way with that?” the young man said. Colleen’s lips pressed together hard, suppressing a laugh that, if set free, would undoubtedly land her in the doghouse.
“Don’t be jealous. I’m not the one who—”
“Don’t go there,” Colleen chided, giving Marisha a playful look.
“Fine. We can all play Candyland ne
xt time, so no one will get their feelings hurt,” Marisha crossed her arms in front of her chest and huffed.
Colleen glided over and planted a soft peck on her forehead. She felt the tension ease and the chill of the fall air disappeared, all the while disarming Marisha. She had never been one to lavish affection on her girlfriend, or anyone for that matter. But when she did, it was honest and genuine. It was those times that Marisha’s heart would swarm, and Colleen would feel her fingers draw across her bare skin. Even though Marisha knew how to press her last nerve, the soft gesture would bring back the ‘first kiss butterflies and Colleen knew that there was no one else that she would rather be with.
“Chenoa,” Marisha said, breaking away from the moment, “do you and Cooper want to help us find dinner for tonight?”
“I’m okay,” Cooper said, “I would go, but I’m still recovering from your girlfriend trying to crush me with those tree trunks,” pointing at Colleen’s muscular legs.
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