by Hadena James
Lucas let go of her mouth. She didn’t scream. She took several deep breaths.
“Now, you are trapped with three US Marshals and one FBI agent. None of us have any intention of dying in here, especially me. If that means I have to chew through the metal with my teeth, I will.” I didn’t add that this was a particular horror that I would do anything to escape. I didn’t figure she needed to know that.
“My name is Lucas McMichaels, there’s Xavier Reece, and Gabriel Henders. You’ve met Ace. What’s your name?”
“Cassandra Clachan.”
“Oh, Cassie,” I said, horror filling my voice. If I thought cooking me alive was bad, adding my family to it was much worse.
“Aunt Aislinn?” She said my name slowly, quietly.
“What happened, Cassie?”
“Mom opened the door, someone shot her. I tried to take Kyle and hide, but he found us. I thought we died when he shot us.” My niece was sixteen years old. Her younger brother, Kyle was fourteen.
“I think we can safely guess two of the occupants of the other device,” Gabriel said sadly.
“Yes, I think we can.” I shook my head in the dark. “Cassie, you and I are going to slowly move forward after we get the men into position. The goal is to get this thing to fall forward. When it does, we are going to get bumped and bruised and tossed around. We are going to have to ignore the pain. Once we are free, you are going to run like hell. If we are in a building, find a place to hide. If we are outdoors, run towards trees, woods, roads, whatever you see. Got it?”
“Got it,” she said after several seconds.
“After we get out, we are going to get the people responsible and save everyone else.”
“Serial killers?” She asked.
“Yes.”
“Figures.” She gave a sigh.
“Think you can work with us?”
“Yes. If we live, I’m making sure mom spends more time with grandma.” She said.
“Good plan,” I told her confidently. My desire to get out was growing by the second, “Lucas, move forward, the rest move back. The bull rocks with movement, so expect it to move, but try to keep it to a minimum.”
In the dark, I could hear the shuffling of their clothes. I grabbed Cassie as the bull began to rock with us in it. She didn’t yell or let out a single noise, just grabbed my hand. Unlike Malachi, I had attachments to my family.
“There,” Lucas whispered. His voice echoing in the chamber.
“Ok, move feet first into the head, fill as much of the hole as possible with your body. As he moves, the rest of us need to move. Xavier and Gabriel, scoot up to his back and move as he does. Cassie and I will move with you.” I took hold of the shirt to the side of me and put it into Cassie’s hand.
“We don’t have guns, what do we do when we get out?” Gabriel asked.
“We kill them. Guns are a convenience, not a necessity,” Lucas answered.
I did the same with the shirt in front of me. I waited until I felt them move. I pulled Cassie with me.
In unison, the five of us wiggled through the body of the bull. We scooted across the warm sections of the belly slowly. The bull rocking more and more. Not just side to side, but I felt the legs come up in the back.
“Now, Lucas, move fast, now,” I suddenly ordered.
The filled legs would work to our advantage. I felt them lift again. Cassie grabbed my arm tighter. The back legs lifted higher. My feet went around whoever was in front of me. I wrapped my legs around them tightly, adjusting my weight to put more of it into the head.
It was the tipping point. The bull didn’t come back down, it tipped forward. My face hit the roof. There was a little give at the hatch, but not enough to work with. We heard voices yelling.
“Son of a bitch,” Xavier yelled as the front legs gave out and the entire structure tumbled forward.
We were all slammed into different parts of the bull. My face hit the side and I felt blood begin to pour from my cheek. I grabbed Cassie and pulled her head into my body. Locking her between my chest and the back of the man in front of me. I was sure the position wasn’t comfortable, but at least she wouldn’t bust open her head.
We crashed to the ground. The sound of bronze hitting the concrete rang like a bell inside the bull. Cassie screamed. The entire bull broke apart. The hinges giving under the stress of the weight and mangled metal.
Something sharp and most likely metal was stabbing me in the leg. Cassie was moving, trying to untangle herself from the heap of bodies. She was failing miserably. Her arm was pinned under Gabriel who seemed to be out cold.
“You know the problem with hinges is that they are always a weak spot,” Xavier quipped. I turned to look at him.
“Lucas, what does your psychological training say about people who kill in groups? I count five people.”
“We call them cults,” Lucas groaned back, “I think my arm is broken.”
“So help me god, if you shoot me or her with that fucking thing one more time, I’ll make it the last thing you live to regret.” I told someone who was now towering over me. He wore a mask. He held a gun.
Xavier started giggling. Everyone turned to look at him.
“He’s already made that mistake. What do you think is going to happen when he gets to the Fortress and your brother finds out that he’s one of the assholes that kidnapped his wife, son, daughter and sister? Normally, he is kept under lock and key, but I’m sure the guards would let him out at an inappropriate time to deal with these guys. They are sympathetic to his reason for being there.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” I was waiting for a sign. Something to tell me to go for the gun.
The screaming from the other bull came to us. The flames had suddenly shot up higher. I looked and found an automated bellows under it.
“Forget it, Ace,” Lucas said to me.
“Forget what?” I asked innocently, getting the message. I waited another second, took a deep breath and let the stillness overwhelm me.
Chapter 55
